My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 3: Fresh Prey

Nina Wynn hung her head, feeling as though she’d been targeted by a predator. It was suffocating.

She pressed herself tightly against the door, trying to put as much distance between herself and Caleb Rhodes as possible.

But he was right in front of her. The space was so cramped that no matter how hard she tried, the scent of Caleb Rhodes still drifted over to her.

The fresh scent of cedarwood, mixed with a faint smell of alcohol, seemed to coil around her skin, instantly reminding her of that afternoon three years ago. The cicadas had hummed just like this as a drunk Caleb Rhodes burst into this very room, violent and out of control.

The memory made her heart race in panic. She quickly took a few steps forward to put a little distance between herself and Caleb Rhodes.

But because they were so close, as they passed each other, her arm inevitably brushed against his hand.

The spot where they’d touched seemed to burn faintly, his scent lingering on her skin.

Nina Wynn bit her lip and said softly, "The Rhodes estate is too far from the university. I’m staying in the dorms."

Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes.

’Her voice was still so soft, so quiet. It made him want to punish her mercilessly.’

’And in these three years, she’d even learned to lie!’

But he didn’t plan on exposing her just yet.

’He’d allow a kitten to show its claws now and then.’

"My number... you blocked it?"

Nina Wynn’s eyelashes lowered as she said softly, "I changed my number. My old phone broke, and I lost everyone’s contact information."

She wasn’t lying about this. Of all the Rhodes Family members, the only number she had saved in her phone was her aunt’s.

"Give me your phone."

Nina Wynn had no choice but to hand her phone over.

It was a rather old phone, the screen already worn and a bit blurry.

Caleb Rhodes frowned but entered his number anyway. Then, he used his own phone to scan Nina Wynn’s QR code and sent a friend request.

He handed the phone back and said flatly, "Just now..."

"I get it," Nina Wynn cut him off. "They’re all your friends, Uncle. It was just a joke. It’s fine."

’She probably wouldn’t be staying with the Rhodes Family for much longer, so she didn’t particularly care what these people thought of her.’

The phone, which Caleb Rhodes had held, felt faintly hot. Nina Wynn subconsciously wiped the screen on the hem of her skirt.

This gesture, which looked like one of disgust, made Caleb Rhodes’s eyes darken. A thin layer of anger colored his already cold gaze.

His voice was devoid of warmth. "Going out?"

"Yes, I have a class tonight. I need to get back to the university."

Caleb Rhodes’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Perfect. I’m heading out too. I’ll give you a ride back to the university."

Panic flared in Nina Wynn’s heart. Before she could think of an excuse, Willson Lawson rushed in.

"Third Lord Master, Miss Lowell is feeling a bit unwell. She’s asking for you to take her home."

A flash of displeasure crossed Caleb Rhodes’s eyes. He frowned. "She was fine just a moment ago. What happened?"

Willson Lawson said, "Someone was congratulating her on your engagement, and she had a drink or two more. She might be a little drunk."

Caleb Rhodes frowned, his gaze resting on Nina Wynn’s slightly pale face for two seconds. "I’ll have a car take you back."

Nina Wynn nervously clutched the corner of her clothes, looking down as she refused, "No, thank you. I can get back on my own."

Caleb Rhodes didn’t answer her. He stared at her for two seconds, then turned and left.

Only after Caleb Rhodes’s back had completely disappeared from sight did Nina Wynn snap out of her daze.

’He’s getting engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Rosalind Lowell?’

’No wonder he came back two years early.’

She breathed a sigh of relief, went back to her room to grab a few things, and then left the Rhodes estate.

At eleven o’clock at night in Elysian City, the streets were teeming with people.

On a bustling night market street, several customers were gathered around Nina Wynn’s small hand-drawn portrait stall. Business was pretty good. A few more customers added her on WeChat to commission hand-drawn portraits.

Under a tree not far from the stall, a black, extended-length Hongqi was parked.

Many people in Elysian City drove this type of car, so even though it was a specially modified, bulletproof vehicle, it didn’t attract any attention.

Inside the car, the man concealed in the shadows squinted, his eyes fixed on Nina Wynn at her stall.

That gaze was like a large predator spotting fresh prey, filled with jagged barbs, as if it could physically tear bloody marks from her skin.

Beside him, Willson Lawson glanced at Caleb Rhodes and couldn’t help but shudder. He had a gut feeling that this girl’s life was about to get very difficult.

Willson Lawson had worked for the Rhodes Family for over a decade and was well-acquainted with Caleb Rhodes’s methods. Caleb Rhodes was a man with no sense of morality. What he wanted, he almost never failed to get.

Besides, for a family on the level of the Rhodeses, keeping a woman on the side was all too common; almost no one would question it.

However, this girl was, after all, his sister-in-law’s niece. It seemed ethically questionable.

After an unknown amount of time, Caleb Rhodes retracted his gaze.

"Tell me, what’s so bad about the Rhodes estate that she has to move out? And to live in a place like that?"

Willson Lawson thought for a moment. "Miss Wynn is still young and doesn’t know any better."

Caleb Rhodes fiddled with his phone, his eyes landing on his WeChat.

Nina Wynn hadn’t accepted his friend request.

He lifted his eyelids. "Is there a way to make someone learn their lesson quickly?"

Willson Lawson said, "Probably not, unless she suddenly endures inhuman suffering. That tends to make people mature quickly."

As they spoke, Nina Wynn had already started packing up her stall. In just a short while, she had put everything into a small box and then scanned a yellow shared bike.

The yellow bike moved slowly ahead, and the Hongqi followed at a leisurely pace not far behind.

Before long, the yellow bike turned into an old, rundown residential complex.

The Hongqi also stopped at the entrance to the complex.

Nina Wynn was carrying her box and had just entered the complex gate when the door of a Ferrari parked by the road suddenly flew open. A handsome, refined-looking young man rushed out and angrily blocked her path.

Caleb Rhodes, who had been about to get out of the car, froze, his hand pausing mid-motion.

It was Zyler Rhodes, his older brother’s son.

The complex was old and small, with a narrow entrance. Caleb Rhodes only had to roll down his window a fraction to clearly hear the conversation between Zyler Rhodes and Nina Wynn.

"Nina Wynn, are you a slut? You’d rather live in this shithole than the villa I arranged for you."

His grip on her wrist was so tight she felt it might break. She struggled to pry Zyler Rhodes’s hand off. "Brother, let go."

Zyler Rhodes stared at her, his expression grim.

Under the light, his eyes were bloodshot. His handsome face was filled with malice, ruining its aesthetic appeal.

Nina Wynn sensed a hint of danger and subconsciously took two steps back.

Unexpectedly, this movement enraged Zyler Rhodes. He violently pinned her against a tree trunk and ground out through clenched teeth, "You haven’t been back to the Rhodes estate in three months, and you blocked me. Are you avoiding me?"

Nina Wynn’s brow furrowed, a flicker of imperceptible disgust flashing through her cold eyes.

But she didn’t want to completely offend Zyler Rhodes right now, so she could only say, "Brother, let go. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw us."

Zyler Rhodes scoffed. "Brother? Who’s your brother? Are you a member of the Rhodes Family? You’re not! And I fucking don’t want to be your brother, so why are you playing dumb?"

Nina Wynn lowered her eyelids to hide the loathing in her eyes and said in a low voice, "Brother, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Zyler Rhodes stared motionlessly at her delicate features.

In truth, he used to despise her. He thought that, just like her aunt, she was materialistic and a social climber, so he would always team up with Crystal Rhodes to bully her.

But at some point, she had slowly blossomed. He suddenly realized that, for some time now, his mind had been completely filled with thoughts of Nina Wynn.

Under the influence of alcohol, he found Nina Wynn to be excessively beautiful. ’Looking like that,’ he thought, ’she must be doing it on purpose to seduce me!’

Without a second thought, he grabbed Nina Wynn’s chin and tried to kiss her.