Chapter 418

Rosalind smiled warmly as she entered. "Mrs. Sinclair, Lillian, hello."

Margaret's face lit up with surprise. "Everett, you should have told us Rosalind was coming. I would have prepared more dishes."

Everett opened his mouth to explain she wasn't staying for dinner, but Rosalind spoke first. "Mrs. Sinclair, I'm not picky. Whatever you have will be perfect."

Margaret chuckled. "Well, we certainly have enough for everyone."

The room filled with light laughter, creating a cheerful atmosphere.

Everett announced abruptly, "I need to shower."

He retreated to his bedroom, turning the faucet to cold. The icy water cascaded over his tense muscles.

The aphrodisiac Penelope had slipped him was stronger than he'd anticipated. Though experienced enough to recognize such tricks, the drug's effects still pulsed through his veins.

Water droplets ricocheted off his sculpted torso as he clenched his jaw, fighting for control.

The door creaked open. "Everett?" Rosalind's soft voice carried through the steam.

He didn't turn. "What?"

"Your mother asked me to bring fresh clothes."

"Leave them inside."

Rosalind stepped in cautiously. The frosted glass partition obscured her view, which she deliberately avoided. "Where should I put them?"

"Just hang them up."

"Alright."

She arranged the garments neatly on the hook.

Everett's gaze flickered through the misted glass. Her silhouette appeared delicate yet alluring - slender frame, graceful neckline, dark tresses cascading down her back with a faint floral scent.

She stretched on tiptoes to adjust the clothes, her profile revealing gentle curves in all the right places. Youthful. Tempting.

His pupils dilated, muscles tensing against the rising heat. His hand twitched with barely restrained impulse.

"Are you almost done? You've been in there forever." Her voice floated through the barrier.

Silence.

"Everett? Did you turn into a mermaid?" Playful teasing laced her words.

"Everett! Everett!"

Each call of his name through the glass sent electric currents down his spine - secretive yet charged with unspoken tension. Like fireworks detonating behind his eyes, blurring reality.

It felt like breathing in something intoxicating - foreign yet irresistible.

"Everett! Everett!"

Control snapped. "Enough!" His voice came out ragged. "Are you trying to destroy me?"

The other side fell silent.

Rosalind left. Everett shut off the water, toweling off roughly before dressing in the clothes she'd brought. He emerged to find Margaret finishing vegetable prep in the kitchen.

Lillian sat at the table, pencil flying across her notebook. Rosalind observed the girl's flawless handwriting - top of her class, just like her brother.

"You're amazing, Lillian. Which high school are you aiming for?" Rosalind asked.

Lillian grinned. "Willowridge High. Everett got in with perfect scores."

Rosalind nodded. "State champion that year, wasn't he?"

Pride shone in Lillian's eyes. "He's always been first - elementary through college. My impossible standard." She sighed. "I still have so far to go."

The Sinclair siblings' brilliance was undeniable. Though Rosalind had excelled academically, Everett's achievements existed on another plane.

She wandered into the kitchen where Everett stirred sizzling vegetables.

"Everett," she ventured, "is my B-average why you're not interested? Do you think I'm intellectually inferior?"