Sylvia was teetering on her heels atop the uneven cobblestones when she lost

    her bnce and all but fell right into Lester''s arms.

    "Sorry!" she blurted out, scrambling to straighten herself.

    Before she could pull away, Lester gently brushed her hair with his hand.

    "You had a leaf stuck there," he said, holding up the culprit.

    She quickly smoothed her hair, feeling her cheeks flush. "Thanks."

    "Do you always have to be so formal?" Lester arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk ying on his lips.

    Sylvia was about to exin herself when Reese''s voice rang out from behind them.

    "I wondered where you''d disappeared to-turns out you had other ns."

    Sylvia spun around, only to be met with Reese''s cold, dark stare. There was an intensity there that sent a chill up her spine, as if his eyes were ink that never quite dried. She instinctively took a step back.

    Lester stepped smoothly between them, his tone light. "Aren''t you two supposed to have some alone time? Come on, everyone''s already in the main hall. Let''s not keep the guests waiting."

    "Of course." Reese looped his arm through Rupert''s. "Mr. Rupert, shall we? My brother can look after Sylvia."

    Rupert merely nodded, but before he left, he shot Sylvia a look so icy and sharp she felt like she might shatter under it.

    Sylvia, desperate for Lester not to notice anything, forced a calm voice. "We should go too."

    Lester nodded.

    They walked in silence until they reached the doors to the main hall. There, Lester paused and turned to her.

    "Sylvia."

    "Yeah?" she answered, distracted.

    "Reese was right, you know."

    His eyes sparkled with a warmth that made her heart skip a beat.

    Sylvia froze, reying Reese''s words in her head. Other ns. Was he talking about... her?

    For a second, she waspletely at a loss, nervously twisting the fabric of her dress.

    "-"

    "Ms. Lloyd!" A housemaid came hurrying from the hall.

    Sylvia seized the chance to break eye contact. "Yes?"

    "Mrs. Naomi''s back is acting up again. She needs you in the garden house," the maid said, pointing towards the backyard.

    At the mention of Naomi''s condition, Sylvia forgot everything else. She apologized quickly to Lester and rushed off.

    The Garcia family''s staff were all busy in the main hall, so the garden house was oddly quiet.

    Sylvia hurried inside.

    "Mom?" she called, but got no answer. Worried, she picked up her pace.

    She had barely taken two steps when she heard the flick of a lighter by the living room window.

    Her heart sank. Rupert, who should have been greeting guests, stood there by

    the window, cigarette in hand.

    Of course. She''d been tricked.

    The window

    letting the

    was cracked open,

    breeze swirl the smoke

    around Rupert''s face, blurring his

    sharp features and making his re even more intimidating.

    "So eager to be with him, huh?" he said coldly.

    Sylvia opened her mouth, ready to fire back, but Rupert''s frosty gaze made her swallow the words.

    She

    shoto go, but before she

    could

    è the room, Rupert''s hamet

    shot out, pulling her back with as unyielding as steel.

    grip

    She was pinned against the cab with a dull thud that made her insides tremble.

    Rupert''s eyes were dark and stormy, his jaw clenched tight as if he was barely restraining something dangerous.

    "You''re not even going to talk to me now?"

    His breath was hot against her

    bet

    forehead; his presence crowding out everything else. Sylvia clenched her jaw and turned her face away.

    But Rupert caught her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Hmm? Not a word?"