Chapter 80

“Got it. After all, there are so many gold diggers these days; hiding your identity helps in developing a genuine connection. But isn’t my sister-in-law a bit too young? You into younger girls now?”

Orion’s tone was laced with impatience. “None of that’s true. Drop it, and don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Got it?”

Matthew shrank a little. “Alright, I got it. Just a question—why get so heated?”

After laying down the law, Orion finally spoke again. “You thinking of inviting her to join the team?”

“Ah, crossed my mind, but I’m more interested in getting under Alan’s skin. The dude’s all bark and no bite! Heard he doesn’t get along with his sister, so I thought I’d stir the pot.”

“Wait till her exams are over before you pull any stunts. Don’t do these things right now; it might influence her.”

Once Orion hung up, Matthew wasted no time adding Lemira as a friend in the game, curious about what she meant to his brother. He’d never seen his brother with a girl before, and definitely never seen him treat any girl this well!

A month flew by.

Lemira watched the classroom countdown hit zero; finally, the day had arrived. She was determined to correct the mistakes of her past, starting here. After school, Lemira headed straight for the infirmary.

Thaddeus waved. “Lemon, big test tomorrow, feeling nervous?”

“Not really, more like looking forward to it.”

Lemira glanced at Orion, who was sitting there in his lab coat, looking stern and distant. But she knew Orion was one of the good guys. Their eyes met. Orion saw the anticipation in her eyes. He said calmly, “Good luck.”

“I’ll need it.”

Lemira smiled. “Guess I’ll head out then, bye.” She was an open book to him. She’d come here just to hear those two words from him. After all, aside from Orion, it seemed like no one else really rooted for her.

Once Lemira left, Thaddeus clicked his tongue. “Such a bright and polite protégée makes me wish I had one.”

Orion remained silent, eyes closed, feigning sleep.

“Orion, once her exams are done, you planning on heading back? Or are you going to watch over her forever?”

Orion slowly opened his eyes, a deep, unreadable look within them. Forever? He hadn’t thought about that. He just did what felt right.

The exams began. Lemira had a great night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed. She headed to the dining hall for breakfast. The family chef made pasta. But Evelina was coughing weakly, looking like she hadn’t fully recovered from her cold.

Lucian was worried about Evelina. “You alright? Been a month and still sick?”

The butler immediately came to her defense. “All because she got soaked in the rain and caught a nasty cold.”

Lemira heard this but chose to ignore it. Not her damn problem!

Evelina tried to smooth things over. “Lucian, it’s just me being weak, and then the rain didn’t help. My fault, really.”

“Eve, don’t be so hard on yourself. Just do your best, don’t stress.”

Lemira kept her head down, focusing on her meal, completely ignoring the chatter around her. She had prepared for this moment and wasn’t going to let anything or anyone throw her off.

Lucian personally drove them to school for their exams. As they drove, the skies opened up, cooling the air but causing traffic to snarl.

Evelina, looking pale and sickly, said, “Lemmy, good luck with your exams.”

Lemira turned her head to look out the window, offering no response.

Chapter 81

Evelina bit her lip in frustration, sneaking a glance at the passenger seat where Lucian sat. If this had been any other time, Lucian would have scolded Lemira for her attitude. Despite her efforts over the month, nothing seemed to have changed.

They arrived at the school, and as Lemira got out, her stationery spilled from her bag onto the ground. Bending down to pick it up, she realized something was off: all her supplies were missing. Panic set in for a moment. How did this happen? She looked up at Evelina, realizing she was the only one capable of such sabotage.