“You’re in the mood, aren’t you?”
Liesel crossed her arms and looked at Elijah, who stretched lazily. He didn’t seem all that alert. She added, “Don’t tell me you stayed up all night waiting for me. I wouldn’t believe that for a second.”
Elijah tilted his head slightly. There was a document box inside the car. The top file was marked with his notes. He had only recently taken over the Hardin family business and still had a lot to learn.
“You know me too well,” Elijah replied while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He had been here going over documents and waiting for Liesel, it seemed.
His face softened into a smile, but just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of the exposed faint marks on her neck out of the corner of his eye.
He could sense her unease and, after a brief moment of thought, understood why.
Elijah discreetly looked away while maintaining his smile. He changed the subject. “You wanted to watch the sunrise, right? I know the perfect spot. Let me take you there.”
He’d take her somewhere new to start afresh.
Liesel hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”
As they left, Natalie stepped out of the shadows with an expressionless face and clenched
fists.
It wasn’t fair.
They were both daughters of the Sharp family, but Liesel had grown up in Ashthorne, surrounded by people like Jacob and Elijah. Even though she’d divorced Jacob, she was still tied to him. She was helping him deceive Vincent and returning to Ford Manor.
Meanwhile, Natalie was left on the outside, watching. She had barely managed to push” Liesel aside, and now Elijah had shown up. Liesel’s luck was unbelievable.
But if Liesel chose Elijah, Liesel had no right to think about Jacob anymore.
Natalie quickly pulled out her phone and called Jacob. When he answered, she spoke in a soft voice, “Jake, I couldn’t stop thinking about you and Liesel going back to Ford Manor together last night. I’ve been so worried I couldn’t sleep. I’m already at the gates…”
Then, Natalie suddenly gasped and feigned surprise. “Jake, I just saw Liesel get into a strange man’s car. Do you think she’ll be alright?”
Liesel had indeed gotten into a man’s car, so it wasn’t a lie..
Jacob was silent for a long time before he finally replied, “I’ll
o find her.”
Now it was Natalie’s turn to fall silent. She only wanted Jacob to know that Liesel had left with some guy, not for him to actually go looking for her.
But then she reconsidered. Once Jacob found Liesel with Elijah, he’d be so disappointed in her, and there’d be no way back for them.
Grove Manor was a small manor Elijah had built a few years ago. At night, one could look up and see stars scattered across the sky, and in the morning, the sunrise was breathtaking. It was his secret hideout.
When they arrived, fireworks began to bloom softly in the last moments of the night. They lit up the sky like falling stars, cutting through the darkness in colorful bursts. The dazzling display painted the sky in hues of red, blue, and gold, fading like shooting stars as they descended.
