Hogan’s words clearly weren’t just to coax the truth out of Celeste—he was still suspicious of her.

Celeste’s lips quivered as she began to cry, her voice trembling with heartbreak. “It really wasn’t me, it wasn’t…”

“If it were before, maybe I would have tried to hurt Amara. I used to hate her…”

“But right now, I have nothing left. My parents could be taken down by Liliana at any moment, and I’m nobody myself…”

“In my situation, why would I still try to hurt Amara? I’m not completely clueless…”

Her words, choked with sobs, made her look genuinely pitiable.

Hogan watched her for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.

On a personal level, he truly wanted to believe Celeste. But given her long history with Amara, and the fact that the shop owner insisted it had been Celeste, he didn’t know what to do.

Still, as Celeste had pointed out, it was Amara who chose the dessert shop today. Even if Celeste had wanted to harm her, there’s no way she could have predicted where Amara would pick to meet. It was a tough problem to solve.

Just then, the door to the hospital room swung open, and Finnian entered, his expression dark and stormy.

Everyone’s attention turned to him, but he didn’t look at anyone else—he strode directly to the bedside, grabbed the bed rail with one hand, and took Amara’s hand with the other. “How are you? Does your stomach still hurt?”

There was such genuine concern in his tone it was impossible to ignore. He felt her forehead and cheek, visibly relaxing only when he saw that her temperature was normal and her face had a healthy flush.

His sudden arrival had already startled her, and now, with him holding her hand and speaking to her so gently-especially with others in the room-Amara felt beyond uncomfortable. She turned her head aside and said softly, “I’m fine now, Mr. Everly. Please don’t worry.”

Finnian sat down, still holding her hand. “I was out of town for a meeting when Celeste suddenly called to tell me something happened to you and the baby. How could I not be worried?”

His words—

There wasn’t anything obviously wrong about what he said, but it somehow made the distance

venet

ween them evaporate creating a kind of subtle timacy

Amara looked embarrassed, lowering her head, not knowing what to say.

As if nothing was amiss, Finnian gently pulled Amara out from under the covers and into his arms.

He covered her stomach with his hand, gently kneading. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” he asked, seeking confirmation.

แ

“Mr. Everly!”

Was this man insane? Why was he pulling her out of bed and touching her stomach, right here and now?

Dien he realize how intimate thi

looked?

On top of that, there were three other people right here in the room!

All three were staring at them—did Finnian not feel their eyes?

Amara’s face turned bright red. Wanting Finnian to let her go, she muttered quietly, “Let me go…”

“Don’t move. I’m just helping massage your stomach.”

He removed her hand from his arm, placed his hand back on her abdomen, and started gently rubbing again.

Even though the position was mortifying, she had to admit-after just a few gentle circles, her stomach genuinely felt a lot better.

But what was she supposed to do with all these mixed feelings…

Amara bit her lip and pushed weakly at his arm, murmuring, “Just put me down, please. This position is uncomfortable.”

Finnian glanced at her. Seeing how

even the tips of her ears were turning red, he realized she was simply embarrassed. He didn’t push her anymore-carefully tucking her back into bed and pulling the covers up for her.