The storm that had raged deep into the night didn’t stop the next morning from turning out bright and clear.
The air was full of that fresh, washed-clean smell after rain, damp earth mixed with leaves and grass.
One deep breath in, cool and sharp, and it gave people that weird sense of relief, like surviving a disaster by a hair.
Jordan finished a full set of military combat drills on the terrace.
He grabbed the hot towel a bodyguard handed over and wiped his face in a rough, casual sweep, looking completely refreshed.
In a ridiculously good mood, he even started humming an F Country military song under his breath.
He was in such a good mood that he ate two extra fried eggs at breakfast.
Even the two rows of bodyguards standing guard by the entrance suddenly looked a lot more pleasing to the eye.
“Your Highness,” the bodyguard reported in a lowered voice, “Ethan didn’t leave until five in the morning.
He stood outside in the rain all night, but never stepped through the front gate.”
Jordan stabbed a piece of bacon with his fork and laughed, smug and broad.
“Serves him right.
Let him have a taste of wanting something he can’t get.
My sister isn’t someone he gets to hurt when he feels like it, then come back for when he regrets it.
Honestly, why didn’t a lightning bolt just take him out last night?”
He did want to stay with Nina a few more days.
But right now, he had something big on his plate.
A massive cross-border arms deal was waiting for him.
The negotiations were set in G Country, tied to quite a few core royal interests of F Country.
There was no way around it.
He had to go in person and hold the line himself.
Now that he had seen with his own eyes that Nina really had no softness left for Ethan, Jordan could finally leave for the negotiation with some peace of mind.
And then, right at that moment, a breaking news alert popped up.
At the same time, the giant news screen inside the villa switched over and began broadcasting a political flash update.
“Official release from the Presidential Office: A grand memorial ceremony will be held for the late Mr.
Blackwell’s eightieth death anniversary.
All members of the Blackwell family will attend.”
Below the headline, the drafted ceremony schedule was listed in detail.
The whole thing was clearly meant to be huge, and the notice spread through all of Uppergate’s political circles in no time.
Bang—
The coffee cup in Jordan’s hand slammed hard onto the marble floor.
Ceramic shards flew everywhere, and dark brown coffee splashed across the ground.
Jordan shot to his feet and stormed toward the second floor, not even bothering to wait for the elevator.
“Nina!
Did you see the news?
That bastard is obviously forcing your hand!”
“This isn’t some simple memorial ceremony.
The late Mr.
Blackwell’s death anniversary is just an excuse.
Ethan knows damn well that the old man helped you back then, and that you’d never forget that favor.
He’s banking on that.
Making the ceremony this loud, this public, he’s using that debt like a rope around your neck, pushing you until you have no choice but to show up.”
Nina was sitting by the window at her desk, a yellowed perfumery notebook resting in her hands.
After being hit with Jordan’s roar, she slowly closed the book and answered in a calm, even voice, “I know.”
“You know?” Jordan was so angry he started pacing around the room, each step thudding heavily against the floor.
“You know, and you still plan to go?
Do you even know what kind of place that’ll be?
The whole Blackwell family will be there.
Tiffany, that vile woman, will definitely be there too.
The media will have cameras pointed at you from every angle.
The second you show up, you’re walking straight into a trap.
Listen to your brother.
Cut ties with the Blackwell family completely.
You are not going to his grandfather’s memorial.”
Nina stood up.
Her voice softened, almost like she was soothing an overgrown kid throwing a fit.
“Jordan, the late Mr.
Blackwell really did save me.
It wasn’t some small favor.
It was life-saving kindness.
I can’t just forget that.”
Jordan stopped mid-step.
“Fourteen years ago, the moment news came that our adoptive parents had met with an accident, the bank showed up even faster than the ambulance.
They froze every last asset under the Harlow name and kicked my brother and me straight out of that mansion.
It was the middle of winter.
My brother and I were still in thin clothes, and between us, we didn’t even have enough money to buy a bun.”
Nina’s voice was flat, almost too calm, like she was talking about somebody else’s life. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
But her fingers had quietly tightened around the curtain, wrinkling the fabric bit by bit.
“It was Mr.
Blackwell who sent people to find us.
He gave us a temporary place to stay, paid for a proper funeral for our adoptive parents, so they wouldn’t end up abandoned in the wild.
He even left a sum of money for Ambrose Harlow, so he could keep looking into what really happened to our parents.”
She turned around and looked at Jordan.
There was a faint, broken shimmer in her eyes, like light trembling on water.
“Without Mr.
Blackwell, my brother and I probably would’ve frozen to death on the streets of Uppergate a long time ago.
I’ve never forgotten that kindness.
Not once.”
Jordan’s fists clenched so hard they gave a sharp cracking sound.
“You think I don’t know that?”
He suddenly strode forward, grabbed Nina by the shoulders, his eyes already rimmed red.
Even his voice shook, like he was forcing every word through gritted teeth.
“Three years ago, when Mr.
Blackwell was critically ill, the whole Blackwell family had already started preparing for his funeral.
Everyone had given up except you.
You ran overseas by yourself and stole that special medicine.
That’s the only reason he survived.”
The more Jordan spoke, the more worked up he got, his anger climbing fast.
“Do you even realize where you went?
That was your second brother Walden Calloway’s research institute!”
“Do you know what kind of person Walden is?
He got into medical school at thirteen, earned his doctorate at eighteen, and founded Crestview Medical Research Institute that same year!
The security there is insane—people say even a world-class thief would be caught immediately.
And for that one bottle of medicine, you triggered the infrared alarm, got your back grazed by the high-voltage grid, then crawled out through a third-floor ventilation shaft.
You were this close to losing half your life there!”
By the end, Jordan was practically shaking.
His fingers tightened without him realizing it.
“Afterward, Walden found out the medicine was gone and put out a worldwide bounty for the thief.
He swore he’d catch that thief and dump them into the sea to feed the fish!
If my people hadn’t already started suspecting your identity back then, Walden’s killers would’ve come straight to your door already!”