But it wasn’t her place to say that. After all, she was fiercely loyal to Elysia and Amara, and since both women clearly despised Finnian right now, she had no business defending him.

Just then, Amara’s phone buzzed. It was Finnian. She answered, and his voice immediately came through: “Where are you?”

Amara didn’t reply right away. She walked out to the balcony, her tone glacial. “What do you want?”

She hadn’t planned on answering his call at all, but a morbid curiosity pushed her to see what new lies he had prepared. She picked up out of sheer self-torment.

“I want to see you,” Finnian said. “Can you come out and meet me?”

Answering the phone was one thing, but Amara had zero desire to see his face. “I don’t want to see you. Whatever it is, say it now.”

Amara was usually tactful. Even when she desperately wanted to avoid someone, she would soften the blow with excuses like ‘it’s not a good time.’ She rarely flat-out told someone she refused to see them.

But her blunt rejection proved she was entirely out of patience and wanted nothing to do with him.

Finnian’s heart plummeted. “Please, just come out. I’m waiting outside your villa. If you don’t come out, I’ll stand here all night.”

What was he doing? Staking out her front door like some kind of creep?

And was that a threat?

A surge of hot anger flared in Amara’s chest. Sensing her rising fury, Finnian immediately softened his tone. “Amara, I just want to talk to you face-to-face. I promise I won’t do anything. Just let me see you.”

By the end, his voice bordered on a desperate plea, making him sound almost pitiable.

Amara thought for a moment before replying, “I’m at Elysia’s apartment. There’s a cafe nearby. Meet me there in a bit.”

She only agreed because she feared he was unhinged enough to stand outside her door all night.

The thought of him lurking outside her home was suffocating. It was better to just meet him in public and settle this once and for all.

Since they had met at that exact cafe before, Finnian knew exactly where to go. He agreed and hung up.

Amara headed over to the cafe, taking a seat in a quiet corner to wait. It didn’t take long for Finnian to arrive.

Dressed in a sharp black suit, he

strode hurriedly toward her.

Standing by her table, he looked her over tore speaking. “Amara, I need

to explain something to you

Resting her chin in her hand, Amara stared blankly out the window. She gave no

sign of acknowledging him, but she was listening.

Finnian took the seat across from her. “I need to explain the trending topics. You must have seen them. Liliana fell from a stunt harness, and I went to the hospitakto check on her. The tabloids are saying m deeply devoted to her, that care about her more than anything. But that’s not the truth.”

He spoke slowly, his tone thick with desperation. “I only went because I got a call saying she was severely injured. She saved my life once, Amara. I owe her a debt. If it weren’t for that, I never would have gone…”

What kind of debt was he talking about? Did she literally take a bullet for him?

A bitter sneer formed in Amara’s mind, though her face remained impassively

serene.