Irian glanced up, his eyes meeting Damien’s for a moment before shifting to Celeste. Her certain expression told him everything he needed to know.

He spoke in a calm tone. “Ms. Morin was injured at the orphanage I sponsor. I’m here on behalf of the orphanage to handle her discharge.”

Celeste’s anxious heart relaxed at his words. Irian was sharp. His quick thinking was impressive. If he had said she’d asked him to come, it would have only added to the tension between her and Damien, causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Oh, really?” Damien asked, sounding intrigued. “Uncle Adrian, was she the one you brought to the other day?”

Adrian gave a noncommittal hum in response. He walked past them, picked up the discharge papers from the bedside, then turned back.

Damien was completely puzzled. Hadn’t Adrian said before that he was just visiting a friend? “Uncle Adrian…”

Adrian was about to handle Celeste’s discharge with the papers when he heard Damien’s voice. He turned toward Damien. “What is it?”

“Let me,” Damien said, reaching out to take the papers from Adrian’s hand. “I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.”

Without waiting for a response, Damien walked out of the room, leaving only Celeste and Adrian behind.

“Mr. Wrenford, my friend was supposed to pick me up, but she had an emergency this morning and never showed up. That’s why I called you,” Celeste spoke softly. “And I didn’t know he’d be here.”

Adrian looked down at her, his gaze lingering on her soft, delicate features. She wore a chiffon dress that ended just above her ankles, where burn scars marked her skin.

“It’s fine. His being here isn’t a surprise,” Adrian’s tone was steady. “Even though you asked for the divorce, getting past my father won’t be easy. I’m sure he made Damien come.”

Celeste gave a small nod. “Alaric did send him.”

Nonetheless, the things he’d said about it being hard to get past Alaric stayed with her. Alaric held tremendous power in the Wrenford family. No one dared to challenge him aside from Adrian. And as it turned out, Alaric favored Adrian more than anyone else. Because of that, Adrian’s place in the Wrenford family ranked just below Alaric’s.

“Didn’t you put anything on your ankle?” Adrian’s voice was low, his eyes shifting downward. His rich, soothing voice pulled Celeste out of her thoughts.

She looked down without thinking. “It’s not too bad, so I didn’t ask the doctor to take care of it.”

The truth was, she wasn’t used to modern medicine. She had mostly relied on traditional medicine. She would just apply some herbs later, and that would be enough.

Celeste lowered her head for a closer look at the wound. With her heel slightly raised, the burned skin was clearly visible to Adrian. Lifting one foot had likely thrown off her balance. She tipped forward and ended up landing right against his chest.

Celeste tried to steady herself, but it was already too late. Adrian reached out and grabbed her arms with a firm grip. The moment the cool metal of his ring brushed her skin, she froze. Her eyes flicked up to meet his. He looked down at that exact moment, and their eyes locked. Something fluttered in her chest, her pulse quickening for no clear reason.