Chapter 3

Rain began pattering against the car windows. The soft, steady sound briefly settled my exhausted, irritated mind.

I kept my eyes shut and waited for the system.

The house wasn't far. By the time it returned with an answer, I was already outside the villa.

The house manager and housekeeper followed with my luggage while I went straight upstairs.

[Found it. Annabelle West decided at the last minute to celebrate her birthday in France. She and Adrian caught a flight right after yours. He hasn't seen the video yet.]

“Of course.”

I gave a cold laugh and tossed my phone onto the bed.

Annabelle really wouldn't leave me alone. I'd left the country, and she still had to come make my life unpleasant.

Since Adrian was otherwise occupied, I decided to leave the happy couple alone for now.

[Her birthday's in three days. The party will be at an estate not far from here.]

With the date confirmed, I decided to put the next part of my plan into motion then.

No biased relatives. No friend who refused to see the obvious.

Those three days were wonderful.

When the time came, I stretched out in the rooftop sunroom and asked lazily, “System, what's Adrian doing?”

[Celebrating Annabelle's birthday. They're already dancing!]

“Dancing, huh?”

I sat up, propped my head on my hand, and smiled a little.

He certainly knew how to make an effort for her. Even flying to another country for a birthday was apparently no trouble.

After a moment's thought, I dialed his familiar number.

As expected, the call went unanswered and cut off.

I wasn't upset. I cheerfully called five times in a row. Only after the last call ended did I put my phone down and lie back again.

“System, get me a Three-Day Acute Illness Trial card.”

My instructions were perfectly calm.

For once, geography was on my side. I intended to use it.

The card worked impressively fast.

A second later, pain twisted through my abdomen, and I broke into a cold sweat.

“System! What disease is this? Why does it hurt so much?”

[Acute gastroenteritis! Don't worry. I've activated life protection. Once the effect ends, there won't be any lasting damage.]

Curled up in pain, I called the housekeeper downstairs and asked her to take me to the hospital.

Then I dialed Adrian again.

After a long stretch of ringing, he picked up.

“What do you want?”

He couldn't even get through his first sentence without sounding disgusted.

“I... I feel awful... I saw you were in France, too... Could you...”

My voice shook, the words coming in fragments.

That finally made him notice something was wrong.

“What's happening?”

I endured the pain and deliberately let the phone slip from my hand.

On his end, there was a thud. Then the call ended.

At last, he grew a little anxious. He glanced at Annabelle, smiling in the middle of the party, hesitated, and walked out of the ballroom.

As he went, he called me back.

Again and again, nobody answered.

By then, the housekeeper had helped me downstairs and was driving me to the hospital.

I was soaked in cold sweat. Damp strands of hair clung to my forehead and cheeks.

By the time we arrived, my vision went black. The pain knocked me unconscious.

I had no idea how long I was out.

When I opened my eyes again, Adrian was sitting beside the bed, looking grim.

A faint smile appeared on my pale face.

“Adrian. You came.”

He looked down at me.

I was still deathly pale. I reached out with one thin hand and gently caught his jacket.

Despite how weak I was, I kept smiling at him. My clear eyes were full of hesitation. When he didn't pull away, I let a little happiness show.

I looked innocent, unable to hide a single feeling.

Something in him softened. His expression eased.

“What made you call me?”

He remembered that he hadn't told me he was coming to France.

I jerked my hand back as though he'd frightened me.

“I saw Miss West's Instagram post. You were in one of her photos. That's how I knew you were here.”

“I... I wasn't keeping tabs on you!”

My hand dropped to the bed. I gripped the blanket tightly enough to show how nervous I was.

“I'm not blaming you.” He sighed. “You have a housekeeper right there. There was no reason to call someone farther away.”

“But I wanted to see you.”

My voice rang clearly through the hospital room.

He looked at me and met my bright, earnest eyes.

For a moment, he didn't know what to do.