Chapter 276

"Arabella, you certainly have a way with words."

After bidding farewell to Sebastian and Arabella, Nathaniel and Isabella exited The Velvet Lounge.

"I'll arrange for a car to take you home," Nathaniel offered.

Isabella tilted her chin up, her delicate features illuminated by the streetlights as she gazed at him. "I don't want to go home tonight. I'd rather go to Rosewood Manor."

After careful consideration, Isabella realized she'd been too restrained. She refused to wait until marriage to become intimate with Nathaniel.

Nathaniel was a man with normal desires. If those needs went unmet, other women could easily tempt him.

That's how Harrison had slipped into his life, exploiting a crack in their relationship to climb into his bed.

Tonight, Isabella was determined to visit Rosewood Manor, extending a bold invitation.

Seeing Isabella's flushed cheeks, Nathaniel pressed his lips together. "Not tonight. I have urgent work at the office. I'll have someone drive you home. Behave yourself."

Disappointment flashed across Isabella's face. "Fine. See you soon!" She climbed into the waiting car and departed.

Dominic opened the rear door of the Rolls-Royce, and Nathaniel settled inside. As the luxury vehicle glided through the city, he reviewed documents in the backseat. His phone buzzed with multiple notifications.

Unlocking the screen, he saw a series of alerts regarding the platinum-embossed black card.

[Dear VVIP member, your card ending in 7777 was charged $190.00 at The Velvet Lounge.]

[Dear VVIP member, your card ending in 7777 was charged $5.00 at Benny's Bistro.]

[Dear VVIP member, your card ending in 7777 was charged $1.99 at Benny's Bistro.]

Harrison and Rosalind had visited the food market. Every purchase Harrison made triggered alerts to Nathaniel's phone.

The amounts were insignificant - $5, $1.99, even 99 cents.

She'd bought a custard pudding.

Nathaniel studied the transactions, his lips curling into a faint smirk.

Suddenly, her clear voice echoed in his memory. "Nathaniel, I don't love you anymore."

She claimed she no longer loved him.

Women like Harrison loved and hated with equal intensity. When they loved, it burned like the midday sun.

She had loved him that way.

But once she turned away, there was no return.

She didn't love him anymore.

Nathaniel set his phone aside. He wouldn't call what he felt for Harrison love, yet inexplicably, a vague sense of loss settled in his chest.

At the university dorm, Harrison awoke to find Rosalind missing. Puzzled, she glanced around the empty room.

"Rosalind? Rosalind?"

After searching the suite, she noticed a handwritten note on the desk in Rosalind's neat script.

[Harrison, don't worry. I've gone home for the day.]

Rosalind had returned home.

Harrison realized she didn't even know where Rosalind's home was. Despite their long friendship, Rosalind's family never visited, and she never spoke of them. Harrison had respected that boundary.

True friendship required comfortable distance.

Folding the note carefully, Harrison tucked it away.

Her phone chimed with a new message.

It was from Oliver. [The medicinal herb you requested has arrived.]

Harrison's eyes brightened. The crucial ingredient was finally here! There was hope for removing Rosalind's birthmark after all.