She didn''t care that, in her brother''s eyes, Aurora would alwayse first.

    But what she couldn''t ept was that her brother would stoop so low for Aurora''s

    sake-going behind her back, undermining her.

    There were so many things she was willing to give up for Aurora. Why did they

    have to fight over the same man too?

    Simone''s anger simmered beneath the surface, threatening to spill over.

    For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to march straight up to Leonard

    and demand an exnation. But in the end, she forced herself to hold back.

    She turned to Joshua, her tone softening. "Joshua, don''t take my brother''s words

    to heart. He''s just... well, he wants me to marry for the family, that''s all. He only

    said those things to push me in that direction."

    Joshua''s voice was calm, even resigned. "He''s not wrong, Simone. You''re the

    Lerman family''s heiress, and I''m just an ordinary guy. I''ll never be good enough

    for you."

    Simone shook her head quickly, desperate to reassure him. "What does it matter if

    you''re ''ordinary''? There''s no such thing as who''s worthy or not-only whether

    someone is truly deserving."

    She looked Joshua straight in the eye, her voice brimming with sincerity. "Joshua,

    to me, you will always be the one who''s worth it."

    If she were in his shoes, Simone thought, she would be deeply moved by words

    like these.

    But Joshua only replied, "Miss Lerman, I think... it''s better if we keep our

    distance."

    Her heart, which had been pounding with hope, slowly turned cold.

    "Joshua, what are you saying?"

    He answered quietly, "Mr. Lerman already used me of trying to kill him in the

    hospital, just to keep us apart. Who knows what else he''ll me on me in the

    future? I may be a little tougher than the average person, but I''m hardly a

    professional assassin. That hospital was locked up tighter than a vault-I honestly

    have no idea how I could have even gotten inside to attack your brother."

    He let out a weary sigh.

    "Miss Lerman, I think it''s best if we end things here. I can handle criticism, but I

    can''t stand being used of things I haven''t done."

    Simone rushed to exin, "Joshua, I never doubted you! I''ll talk to my brother and

    clear this up-"

    But Joshua simply shook his head. "Miss Lerman, I have things to do. I''ll be on my

    way."

    No matter how many times Simone called out after him, Joshua never looked

    back.

    She watched him go, her heart filling with both hurt and a deep resentment toward

    Leonard and Aurora.

    When Simone returned, she found Leonard and Aurora sitting together in the

    parlor, chatting.

    As soon as Simone walked in, Aurora nced up. "Simone, did you just go to see

    Joshua?"

    Simone lowered her head, her longshes shadowing her eyes, hiding her

    feelings.

    She paused, then looked at Aurora, a faint but ambiguous smile tugging at her

    lips. "Aurora, you seem awfully interested in what''s going on between me and

    Joshua, don''t you?"

    Aurora caught the strange note in Simone''s voice and raised an eyebrow, about to

    reply.

    But Leonard cut in, his tone cold.

    "Simone, I''ve told you-Joshua is the

    one who tried to kill me. For all we

    know, Ste put him up to it. We

    can''t say for certain whose side he''s

    on, but I''m sure of one thing he''s not

    on ours."

    Simone protested, "But Joshua''s

    been looking for the violinist who

    yed in the garden. Now, Ste''s

    hand is injured-she can''t y

    anymore-and she doesn''t seem to

    remember anything about losing

    that earring. Joshua was willing to

    help Rachel back then; he''d do the

    same for us."

    Aurora considered this for a few

    seconds, then nodded. "Simone has

    a point. But still-why would he try to

    kill Leonard? If he really believed you

    were the person he was searching

    for, he wouldn''t have gone after

    Leonard. Would he?"