"Be good, Caleb. This lady doesn’t know any better. We won’t stoop to her level."

Tianna Bloom’s face flushed bright red at being called "auntie" by Flora Bloom.

She was about to charge over and confront Flora about the word "auntie," but Sharon Caldwell grabbed her arm. They exchanged a glance, and Sharon shook her head. As displeased as she was, Sharon Caldwell could read the situation.

’This squad of thirteen special forces soldiers is led by that man, Lex Cross, and he treats that little bitch Flora Bloom differently. If we clash with Flora now, our family’s chances of taking refuge in Argent could go up in smoke.’

Flora Bloom, Jade, Caleb Bloom, Neal Wallace, Ethan Monroe, and Caleb walked out of the house and over to a military SUV. Lex Cross, The Crown Prince, Lynx, Five, Micah, and Mervin Warren followed behind them.

Flora had overlooked someone—Stephen Bloom hadn’t shown his face all day. But it no longer mattered. They were about to leave, so it was irrelevant whether she saw him or not.

Lex Cross gazed at Flora Bloom with a gentle expression, looking as if he still hadn’t recovered from their kiss moments ago.

"Won’t you reconsider? Come back to Argent with me first. I can help you find your brother."

Micah knew what Flora Bloom was capable of. He had witnessed the giant creatures she could summon, each one boasting impressive combat strength. If she came back to Argent with them, their own safety would be much more secure. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

So he chimed in, echoing Lex Cross’s attempt to persuade Flora to stay.

"Miss, we contacted Argent last night. They should have already begun setting up shelters. As you know, Argent is a major military stronghold. With a disaster like this, it will be the safest place in the entire country. If your family returns with us, you’ll receive special consideration. Won’t you reconsider?"

Flora Bloom smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you. There’s no telling how long it would take to get to Morhaven from Argent. I’m afraid my brother could be in danger."

"So be it. I won’t insist." Micah stood in place, looking disappointed. His sigh was heavy and world-weary.

Lex Cross pulled something resembling an old-school cell phone from his cargo pants pocket. It looked like one of those black-and-white screen models but with an added antenna about half a finger long.

"Take this satellite communicator. If you run into any danger you can’t handle, contact me."

Just as Flora Bloom took the communicator, Lex Cross suddenly leaned in close to her ear and murmured in a voice only she could hear, "Flora, protect yourself. No one else can ever find out about your spiritual water, understand?"

Lex Cross watched her with a faint smile, his eyes, like they were filled with starlight, seemed to see through everything, straight into the depths of her soul.

"What do you know?"

Lex Cross nodded slightly but didn’t answer her question, simply whispering meaningfully in her ear.

"Wait for me."

’This woman is still too weak. For her, ignorance of many things is safer than knowledge. Thankfully, this planet is still relatively safe for now.’

’Flora Bloom’s eyes held too many attachments, yet also an untamable spirit. It was her destiny not to be tied down by him, at least not now.’

’He would wait. He would wait until he had taken care of everything, until he had recovered more of his strength.’

Meanwhile, inside the house, Sharon Caldwell pulled Tianna Bloom aside and scolded her in frustration.

"Why are you so hot-headed? What’s the point of fighting with that little bitch Flora Bloom right now?"

"Mom, didn’t you hear that little brat? He actually called me ’auntie’! Do I look like an auntie? And Flora Bloom—so shameless, seducing Lex!"

Sharon Caldwell’s expression was grim, her eyes glinting with calculation.

"What’s the rush? How could a man like Lex Cross ever be tied down by a single woman? We’re going to Argent with them. You’ll have plenty of chances to make an impression along the way."

Tianna Bloom’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding at her mother’s words.

"Oh, Mom, you mean I should seize my chance on the road?"

"You’re my daughter; your figure and looks are just as good as your cousin’s! The only reason Flora Bloom earned Captain Cross’s favor is because she awakened a superpower and has those monsters to help her. But you’ve awakened an Ice Ability! You’re countless times stronger than that little bitch. If you perform well on the journey, I’m certain Captain Cross will notice you."

As mother and daughter were scheming, Stephen Bloom stormed in, his face dark as a thundercloud. The rage on his face was practically boiling over, ready to erupt from his chest.

"Damn it! I’m so pissed off! It must have been that little bitch from Caleb’s family!"

Seeing her father storming over, Tianna Bloom asked in confusion, "Dad, didn’t you go home to prepare supplies? Why are you back already?"

"Don’t even ask! Our cellar has been completely emptied! There’s nothing left!"

"What!" Tianna Bloom and Sharon Caldwell cried out in unison. "Gone? How could it all be gone?"

"Go! Get Caleb to hand over that little animal, Flora Bloom! I want to see just how she’s going to explain this to me."

The expressions on the faces of both mother and daughter turned sour. They looked at Stephen Bloom with furrowed brows and a sense of helplessness. Sharon Caldwell, in particular, recalled her conversation with Flora Bloom in their cellar the previous night and instantly understood.

"Dad... Flora Bloom and her family already left. They’re on their way to Morhaven to find Joel Bloom."

"What?" Stephen Bloom’s eyes turned so dark they could have been dripping ink. He hated Flora Bloom so much he could grind his teeth to dust, but there was nothing he could do.

"Darling, that little bitch came to our cellar last night asking for the Nu’er Hong wine. I let her take it herself just to get her to treat Tianna faster. But who could have imagined she’d be able to empty our entire cellar in such a short time!"

Sharon Caldwell was kicking herself with regret. How could she have known Flora Bloom would actually dare to empty their cellar?

"You’re saying this was last night, before she came to treat Tianna?"

"Exactly! Do you think she had help? Could it have been Captain Cross and his team?"

A sharp glint flashed in Stephen Bloom’s eyes as a theory quickly formed. "To have a group of monsters as her muscle, and to be able to empty our cellar in such a short amount of time... that little bitch must have some kind of secret."

"I’ve got it, Dad, Mom," Tianna said. "Flora Bloom must have a pocket dimension, some kind of space she can use to store things. That’s how she emptied our cellar. It must be just like in novels and movies, where people awaken all sorts of superpowers after the apocalypse. Just like I awakened my Ice Ability, Flora Bloom probably awakened more than just the Water Element."

The more the three of them discussed it, the more convinced they became that Flora Bloom had awakened both a Water Element and a Space Ability.

"I don’t know what kind of damn-fool luck Caleb’s family has! They’d better not let me run into them again! Otherwise... Hmph!"

* * *

Flora Bloom sat in the passenger seat with her eyes closed, resting. But her mind was reeling, still shocked by what Lex Cross had said.

’Just who was Lex Cross? From the sound of it, he seemed to know something about her having a pocket dimension. How much did he really know?’

After agonizing over it for a long while, Flora Bloom suddenly laughed at herself. ’Meeting is the beginning of a story; parting, a fated regret. They were just strangers whose paths had briefly crossed before diverging once more.’ With that, she pushed all thoughts of her encounter with Lex Cross to the back of her mind—especially that morning’s kiss.

’Ever since her rebirth, Flora Bloom had categorized anything that made her heart race as dangerous. The more alluring something was, the easier it was to become lost in it. If she let her guard down, a future betrayal would be more than she could bear.’

’Now that they had parted ways, their paths would probably never cross again.’