Rupert shot a frosty nce at the two people in the car with him.

The stoplight was red for ny seconds-long enough for Sylvia and Lester to say a lot to each other.

Thest time Sylvia had talked to him that much was back at theke house, when she''d tricked him.

As soon as the light turned green, Sylvia disappeared around the corner without a backward nce.

Rupert frowned and rubbed his temples, feeling the familiar ache.

Orson noticed and asked, "Mr. Rupert, want me to pull over and grab your meds?"

Ever since the fire at theke house, Rupert had been getting these headaches, though the doctors said nothing was actually wrong.

Chris kept insisting it was stress, that he was pushing himself too hard.

Rupert just stared out the window, silent, absently fiddling with his wedding band. He used to twist it as a reminder of responsibility. Somewhere along the way, it just became something to fidget with while he zoned out.

They pulled up to the Garcia estate. The butler was out front, directing staff as they hauled luggage around.

Rupert only had to nce over before he realized those were his own bags from the apartment in Soho Bay.

His voice was icy. "What''s going on?"

The butler shrank back a little from Rupert''s chill. "Uh, Mr. Rupert, I—"

"I told them to move it," came Tristan''s stern voice from the front hallway.

Rupert looked to Orson, who gave a subtle nod. Only then did Rupert head toward Tristan.

"Staff are all back at work tomorrow, and there''s a lot to handle," Tristan said briskly. "It''s not convenient for you to be running all over town."

Tristan shot him a re. "Did you forget you''re getting married in a month? Living alone in SoHo and ignoring your fiancée-what''s that supposed to mean?"

He turned and strode into the living room. Rupert''s face was unreadable as he followed, but his eyes were dark and hard.

They sat. A maid brought coffee and shortbread cookies. Rupert sipped calmly, making it clear he had no intention of answering right away.

Tristan started to lose his cool first. "So you''re not even going to talk to me now?"

"What''s there to say? I''m so busytely-shouldn''t I be thanking you for introducing Kay to the the other Now

big deal hinges on her approval.”  s

Rupert''s gaze was sharp and cold as he looked at the older man, who, despite his pride, was showing his age.

All this, just toplicate a deal that should''ve been easy.

Kay was a powerhouse among the board wives. Plenty of wealthy, influential women listened to her. that crowd started meddling inpany decisions, everything would get messy. That''s why Kay suddenly had so much sway over the partnership.  s

Tristan gave a dismissive snort. "If you don''t want to handle it, I''ll let Edwin take over."

“You threatening me?" Rupert set his cup down, voice low and steely. "You''ve always known Kay has her eye on Edwin and you know what she''s capable of. So you know damn well I won''t let Edwin get involved."  s

"You gave Kay that much power just to keep me in check. But really, you''re just trying to hit Naomi and Sylvia with one blow."

Tristan lifted his chin, as if stating the obvious. "Yeah. And so what? It''s for your own good. Not like you can change anything now."

Rupert stood and straightened his sleeves, his handsome features cold as winter. "You don''t look well. Get some rest. I''m heading out."

"What''s that supposed to mean? I went through all this trouble to move your stuff!"

"Then move it back."

Without another word, Rupert turned and walked out.

By the time he reached the driveway, Orson already had the staff loading Rupert''s bags back into the car.

Inside, the butler came rushing in with a helpless shrug. "Mr. Rupert''s left."

Tristan mmed his coffee cup down, fuming. "Tell Kay to speed things up. Looks

like Rupert''s slipping out of my control."fn8864 Original content can be found at Find_Novel(./fn8864

"Yes, sir."