Chapter 209

Nathaniel lay motionless in deep slumber, unresponsive to her presence.

Harrison's phone suddenly vibrated with an incoming call.

It was Daphne.

She answered immediately. "Harrison, where are you? Come back to the dorm now - Rosalind's in serious trouble!" Rosalind? In trouble?

Harrison hung up without hesitation. Carefully extracting herself from Nathaniel's embrace, she gathered her scattered clothes from the floor and dressed hastily before rushing out.

Moments after Harrison's departure, the door to Emerald Heights clicked open silently.

Daphne had arrived.

She stepped inside, taking in the scene - Nathaniel still asleep on the couch, clothes strewn across the floor. The evidence of last night's activities was unmistakable.

Nathaniel and Harrison had been intimate.

Daphne's fingers trembled as she unbuttoned her blouse, letting it slide off her shoulders. She positioned herself beside Nathaniel, drinking in his aristocratic features. This proximity to Willowbrook's wealthiest man made her pulse race.

Nathaniel Falcon was breathtakingly handsome.

Her heartbeat pounded so loudly she feared it might wake him.

As Daphne reached to pull the blanket aside, Nathaniel stirred. His eyes fluttered open. "Mr. Falcon, you're awake?" she asked quickly.

Nathaniel's sharp gaze immediately focused on the unfamiliar woman beside him. He sat up abruptly. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I'm Daphne," she replied, voice wavering slightly. "We've met before. I'm Harrison's classmate." Recognition flickered in Nathaniel's eyes.

"Mr. Falcon, your secretary contacted me last night. He asked me to come to Emerald Heights to...take care of you. So we..." Daphne trailed off, pulling the blanket higher with feigned modesty.

Nathaniel massaged his temples. The previous night was hazy.

He remembered leaving the Whitmore estate, searching for Harrison at the hospital only to be rejected. The memory of returning to Emerald Heights was fragmented at best.

Yet he distinctly recalled Harrison being there.

The feel of her body beneath his, their passionate entanglement.

But now Harrison was gone, replaced by this stranger.

Had he slept with Harrison's classmate instead?

His gaze fell on the telltale bloodstain on the couch cushion - the undeniable proof of a woman's virginity lost.

Nathaniel's expression darkened. "Get dressed."

In the study, Dominic entered breathlessly. "Mr. Falcon."

Nathaniel, still wearing yesterday's clothes, demanded coldly, "Did you go to the hospital for Harrison last night?"

"Yes," Dominic confirmed. "I even showed Mrs. Falcon the surveillance footage from Rosewood Manor and explained your hand injury was because of her. I tried persuading her to come here, but...she refused and returned to her patient's room."

Dominic had witnessed Harrison entering the room later.

What he didn't know was that Harrison had left afterward, heading straight to Emerald Heights.

A bitter smile twisted Nathaniel's lips. Of course she hadn't come. Just as he'd expected.

Last night's companion had been her classmate, not her.

The bloodstain confirmed it couldn't have been Harrison.

She'd lost her virginity long ago.

What had he been hoping for? The thought that she might actually come to him was pure foolishness.