Chapter 4 Calling Off The Engagement!

Sunlight spilled across the sheets. Even before Nadine peeled her eyes open, a strange tension prickled her skin-she sensed two other presences in the room.

Her hand hovered near the hidden blade tucked in her sleeve, muscles taut and ready for anything.

When she opened her eyes, nothing seemed threatening.

Stacey and Jacob stood nearby, their faces filled with tenderness and quiet heartbreak, watching her as if afraid she might disappear.

Stacey's lips trembled, and her eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "Naddie, thank goodness you're still with us."

Standing beside her, Jacob, tall and usually confident, twisted his hands in a rare show of nerves. "You went through so much yesterday, Nadine. If you need more rest, we'll be right here."

Frustration tugged at his features. He could not forgive himself for being powerless the day before.

He had been forced to stand by while his adopted sister stripped the house of anything valuable and watched his father break down, coughing up blood.

Nadine had stepped in and held the family together. Without her, they would have been lost.

To him, Nadine was nothing short of extraordinary.

She pushed herself up, glancing around the neat but faded room, her gaze catching on a childhood portrait she could not even remember posing for.

She had to get to the bottom of everything that happened. There was too much at stake.

Why did things unravel so quickly after she disappeared?

Who had been working in the shadows against them?

She gathered herself and spoke, her voice raspy from sleep. "Don't worry about me. Can you tell me... where is Dad now?"

Speaking the word out loud felt strange, as though it belonged to someone else.

Jacob's entire face brightened. Hearing Nadine ask about their father was like a promise-she was finally letting them in.

He believed, in that moment, she was here to stay.

"Dad's doing a lot better. He woke up this morning and managed some porridge, then drifted back to sleep. I haven't seen him this peaceful in ages."

He could not hide the admiration in his voice. Nadine had worked a miracle.

"Okay." Nadine nodded, though inside her thoughts tumbled over themselves. The Decadesleep Toxin remained a ticking clock inside Jordy. Her intervention yesterday had only bought them time, not a cure.

She knew there was not much time left unless she found a way to cleanse the poison.

Jacob broke into her reverie with a hopeful grin. "You must be starving, Nadine. Mom's made breakfast for you. Let's go down and eat together."

She offered a faint smile and climbed out of bed.

At the table, Jacob hovered close, always reaching to pour her tea or pass her food, determined not to let her feel the slightest discomfort.

Stacey never stopped watching, her gaze soft and unwavering, as if afraid Nadine might disappear again.

After a long stretch of silence, Jacob finally gathered his courage. "Nadine, the Baileys have called for a meeting today about the marriage agreement." His voice faltered with embarrassment, dropping even lower. "We still haven't heard from Brad, and as for Kaden..."

A troubled look passed over him, but he squared his shoulders. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I won't let you be pushed into anything you don't want."

Nadine placed her spoon aside and dabbed her lips with a napkin, her calm composure returning.

To her, the whole marriage arrangement was nothing more than a minor irritation.

"Send me the location, Jacob," she said quietly.

Jacob stared at her, surprised. "Nadine, are you saying..."

She gave a small, decisive nod. "I'm ending the engagement today."

It was clear to Nadine that if the Baileys genuinely cared about this alliance, the Clark family would never have been left to fall apart.

Besides, whispers around town claimed that Rhys Bailey-the notorious heir from a family with a reputation steeped in shadows-was already in love with another woman.

This was the perfect opportunity. The Clark family's troubles gave her all the justification she needed to walk away from this arrangement.

...

At the Stardust Cafe, Rhys sat near the window, a storm brewing just beneath his calm expression.

His eyes flicked to his watch.

Three minutes had passed since their scheduled meeting time.

He felt only impatience for a fiancee he had never met and wanted this pointless contract dissolved as quickly as possible. He was just about to rise and leave when the chair across from him slid out, and a poised woman sat down. "Mr. Bailey?"

Rhys' gaze lifted with a frown. But in the next instant, shock rooted him to the spot.

That face-he could never forget it. It haunted his dreams and filled the empty sketches scattered across his desk.

Years ago, bleeding out in an abandoned warehouse on the Urygan border, it was her face he saw just before the world went black. She had been the one who brought him back from the brink.

Nadine, on the other hand, misread the tension in his eyes, thinking it was simply annoyance over the engagement. That was exactly how she wanted it.

She slid a small box across the table, her gaze unwavering. "I'm Nadine Clark. Let's not waste time. The engagement is over. You won't have to worry about it anymore. Everything the Bailey family sent to my family is right here. I'm giving it all back."

Rhys felt his entire world tilt. For three relentless years, he had hunted for the woman who saved his life.

He had thrown all of the Baileys' influence behind the search, overturned every stone in Urygan, and always came up empty.

And now, the woman he had been looking for sat right across from him-Nadine Clark. His fiancee.

Rhys' voice caught as he forced out the words. "You really don't remember me?"

Nadine watched him with a hint of irritation.

From what she'd heard, he had a reputation for being a player.

She wondered if the talk about his STDs was true as well.

Pulling her chair back a little, Nadine offered a cool, mocking smile. "No, I have no idea who you are. If that's all, Mr. Bailey, we're done here. The engagement is finished. Goodbye."

She pushed back from the table and turned to go.

Rhys shot up, arm outstretched to block her way. "Who said I agreed to end the engagement?"