My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 7: Engagement

His quiet voice was tinged with a hint of anger.

Nina Wynn was burning with a high fever, her mind muddled. Perhaps it made her a little bolder. "Sir, you’re too close." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Her voice was soft and faint, and a little hoarse.

Caleb Rhodes stared at her, the darkness in his eyes deepening.

If she weren’t running such a high fever and so obviously delirious, he would have thought she was trying to seduce him.

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the car window.

The window rolled down to reveal Willson Lawson standing outside, drenched. He wiped his face. "Third Lord Master, the car is here. You and Miss Wynn should get in quickly."

Caleb Rhodes glanced at the Rolls-Royce with its hazard lights flashing in the downpour, then at the feverish and dazed Nina Wynn. He frowned slightly. "Call an ambulance."

Wiping the rain from his face, Willson Lawson gave a wry smile. "My dear Third Lord Master, it’s clear you’ve been away for a few years. You don’t know what Elysian City is like these days. This storm has knocked out power to half the city and paralyzed the traffic. Where am I supposed to find an ambulance for you at a time like this?"

Caleb Rhodes took out his phone to make a call, but Willson Lawson quickly added, "Third Lord Master, you happen to have an apartment in the complex right next to us. Why not just stay there tonight? As it turns out, Dr. Sullivan lives in the same complex. It’s a much better option than the hospital."

Soon after, Finn Sullivan arrived at Caleb Rhodes’s apartment.

When he saw that the person in the bed was Nina Wynn, a complex look crossed Finn Sullivan’s face.

"Why is it her?"

Caleb Rhodes watched Finn Sullivan give Nina Wynn an injection, his tone cool. "I ran into her. She was sick, so I brought her here."

Finn Sullivan scoffed. "Since when did Master Rhodes become so kind-hearted?"

He stood up, glancing at the still-unconscious Nina Wynn. His tone was unfriendly. "Caleb Rhodes, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Rosalind Lowell’s depression is already severe. Don’t provoke her any further."

Caleb Rhodes’s response was cold. "Finn Sullivan, you’re overstepping."

Finn Sullivan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze sweeping inch by inch across Nina Wynn’s face. "It’s one thing to keep a pet on the side, but don’t you forget, you came back to get engaged to Rosalind Lowell. She’s the one."

Their families had been friends for generations, and the two of them were childhood friends. Their relationship was so good that they never minced words. This time, however, Finn Sullivan’s tone greatly displeased Caleb Rhodes.

Moreover, the way Finn looked at Nina Wynn gave Caleb the feeling that one of his own possessions was being coveted.

Caleb Rhodes suddenly regretted calling him. His icy voice was now laced with anger. "Finn Sullivan, you’ve crossed a line. Get out!"

"Like I give a damn about your business!"

Finn Sullivan snorted, snatched his medical kit, and stormed out.

When Nina Wynn woke up, she found herself lying in a large, soft bed.

A faint, woody fragrance hung in the air. Under the soft lights, the matching cream-colored furniture exuded an air of understated luxury.

She took a breath and tried to sit up, only to find her entire body was weak.

’Where is this?’

’Did I pass out?’

’Where’s Caleb Rhodes?’

With no time to think, she pushed through the discomfort and got out of bed.

Then, she realized her clothes had been changed. She was wearing only a black silk shirt—clearly a man’s—which draped loosely over her body like a robe.

Her mind went blank. Daring not to think about who had changed her, she forced herself to calm down.

She opened the door and stepped out into a spacious living room.

The room was sparsely furnished, containing only a large leather sofa in front of the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and a bar stocked with alcohol.

Caleb Rhodes was sitting on the sofa, looking at his phone.

His long legs were crossed, and in his white shirt, he looked refined and cold, exuding an imposing aura.

Hearing the sound, he looked up at her.

The oversized shirt hung loosely on her body, barely reaching her knees and revealing her pale, slender calves.

He looked at her for only a moment before averting his gaze, his expression cool. "Awake? Feeling any better?"

Nina Wynn still felt groggy, but her fever had indeed subsided a little.

She lowered her gaze, her voice barely more than a whisper. "A little better."

Caleb Rhodes gave a quiet "mhm," his expression cool. "Mild pneumonia. I had someone come give you an injection and leave some medication."

He tapped the bar behind him. "The medicine is here. Come take it."

His tone was utterly cold, as if he were a different person from the man in the car with the terrifying gaze.

Sometimes Nina Wynn felt Caleb Rhodes had two personalities. One was as dark and menacing as a wild beast lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and tear into you at any moment. The other was so cold and placid it was as if he’d been frozen in a refrigerator for three days.

But no matter which Caleb Rhodes she was facing, he always carried an air of looking down on the world, controlling everything with casual indifference.

Nina Wynn walked over slowly. On the bar were several pre-portioned packets of medicine and a few bottles of mineral water.

She swallowed the pills from one of the small packets, but before she could put the water bottle down, a brilliant flash of lightning tore across the sky, immediately followed by a dull clap of thunder.

The color instantly drained from Nina Wynn’s face, and she squeezed the water bottle so hard it buckled in her grip.

It was pitch-black outside. The storm raged on, the lightning and thunder a grim reminder of the weather during Evan Chapman’s burial—a day when it felt as if the very air was bleeding.

Water trickled from the crumpled bottle onto the floor. Nina Wynn stared out the window, completely frozen, as if she were nailed to the spot.

Caleb Rhodes sensed that something was wrong with her. "Afraid of thunder?" he asked lightly.

Nina Wynn snapped back to reality, realizing water had spilled onto the expensive nanmu wood floor. She rushed to wipe it up, but Caleb Rhodes stopped her. "A maid will take care of it."

He glanced at Nina Wynn’s pale face, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. "Finn Sullivan said you’re malnourished."

Finn Sullivan. Caleb Rhodes’s childhood friend, a renowned doctor, and hailed as a young prodigy in Elysian City’s medical community. He was also from a family with generational ties to the Rhodes Family.

The name wasn’t unfamiliar to Nina Wynn.

Perhaps because of the fever, a layer of weariness colored her expression. "Most people who are dieting are a little malnourished."

Caleb Rhodes stared at her intently.

The light from above cast a shadow over his eyes. It wasn’t a sharp shadow, but it made him look exceedingly cold and somber.

And very dangerous.

Nina Wynn’s heart skipped a beat as she realized she’d been lost in thought for too long.

Under his intense gaze, her flimsy excuse clearly wouldn’t hold. She could only murmur, "I’ve been under a lot of stress from my studies lately."

Caleb Rhodes nodded, the dangerous glint in his eyes receding. He reached out, picked up a thin, rectangular card from the coffee table, and held it out to Nina Wynn. "Here. Take this."

It was a gold bank card, an indicator of its holder’s extraordinary status.

Nina Wynn took a step back, not reaching for it. "Sir, there’s no need," she said quietly. "I have money."

Caleb Rhodes stared at her without a word.

His gaze paused on her pale, delicate face for a moment before coming to rest on her soft, inviting lips.

The memory of that afternoon suddenly flooded his mind.

His gaze darkened, and the air was suddenly charged with a dangerous tension.