It wasn't until the evening that I found out Zora had gone to look after Hazel.

After dinner, Hannah, in one of her whimsical moods, dragged me out for a walk. Stepping out of the house, we headed towards the Wood Manor. On the way, Hannah blinked at me and asked, "Do you know who's been taking care of Hazel at the hospital, now that the poor girl Jessica is finally allowed to go home?"

I immediately shot back, "Who?"

At the same time, my mind raced - it couldn't be Camilla, could it?

With Jerome away, it would be typical for Camilla to step in. She was the epitome of diligence and dedication, after all.

I blurted out, "It's not Camilla, is it?"

But Hannah shook her head instantly. Somewhat puzzled, I looked at her as she chuckled, "Zora!"

I burst into laughter, "Oh my word... She is truly a loyal hound, isn't she? Born to be a nanny or a maid - it's just perfect... I thought they would've sent Camilla!"

Hannah joined in the laughter, teasing me, "Surprised? Shocked?"

I nodded vigorously, "Totally surprised and absolutely shocked. Looks like Jaylan is eternally grateful to Zora. That's true love. Always available without a word of grumble!"

We continued chatting and laughing as we approached the Wood Manor. I introduced Hannah to the grandeur of the estate, not forgetting to poke fun at Zora along the way. But as we entered, I was taken aback. There was Ronan with Logan, Larkin, and a few other young guys I didn't recognize.

It seemed like they were in a meeting, and they all turned to look at us as we came in.

Feeling a bit awkward, I quickly asked, "Are we interrupting? Please, don't let us hold you up!"

As I tried to drag Hannah back out, Logan's voice stopped me, "Hold on... Allie!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him.

"Come on in... What's the rush? We're not monsters, you know!" he beckoned invitingly.

He teased with a mischievous grin, "Better to be just on time than early. Here you are, delivered right to us, saving us the trouble of finding you!"

I turned back around, "Alright! I'm not in a hurry. I just didn't want to interrupt anything."

Ronan gestured, and someone brought over a chair for me.

I wondered when this place had become Ronan's hangout. After playing the role of Bennett all day, he must've been tired; now he seemed more laid-back. "You guys eaten yet?" I casually asked. "Want me to rustle up something?"

Logan gave me a thumbs-up. "That's our Allie, always caring for the people! We're all starving, right guys?"

The others promptly chimed in, "Yeah, we're starving!"

I pulled out my phone, but Hannah said, "I can go get it!"

I stopped her. "I'll do it. You don't know the local hotspots."

Hearing this, Logan's eyes lit up. "Yeah, order some good food! That's why you're the best, Allie! We need to eat before continue to work!"

"That's right, mealtime is sacred!" I quickly placed an order through my phone for some local specialties.

Noticing Ronan silently observing me from the corner of my eye, I chose to ignore it for now. I hurriedly finished ordering on my phone and, pretending to be unruffled, I turned back to Logan, "Well?" I urged, "Do tell!"

"Tell you what?" Logan joked, "You see me and think it's all business? Can't a guy catch a break?"

"What did you call me for, then?" I said, a bit annoyed.

"How else would I get to eat something good?" he retorted shamelessly.

I had to hand it to him - nobody could beat Logan at talking his way out of anything.

"If there's nothing else, then I'm out of here!" I said, standing up.

Logan quickly begged off, "Allie, there is something! Really, there is!"

Laughing at his antics, and with everyone else chuckling along, I said, "Alright, spill it."

"We've cast our pebble out there," Logan said with a mischievous smile. "I bet there'll be ripples in no time."

It took a moment for me to catch on, but then it clicked, "You mean you've set the plans for Goldenvale Town in motion?"

From the other side, the young guy monitoring the computer let out a chuckle and interjected, "DragonLord, what's with the betting? It's blown up already!"

"How the stats..." Logan immediately stood up and moved closer to the screen.

"The traffic has hit over 300k, and shares are climbing... Look at that, it's doubling!" The young guy was visibly excited.

"Steady now. Stick to the plan and set the pace..." Logan instructed, eyes glued to the screen.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report