At the urging of Shane Sloane and Leo Fletcher, I 'reluctantly' agreed to let Thea Hale stay.
Thea Hale looked up, her eyes filled with such gratitude for them that she seemed ready to pledge herself to them completely.
'How strange. I was the one who ultimately decided to let Thea Hale stay, yet they're the ones reaping all the gratitude.'
After dinner, I put on a tired expression and said I was heading back to my room to rest.
Leo Fletcher couldn't wait to leave. Judging by the direction he went, he was heading for the servant's quarters.
'He's fallen for her after just one meeting?'
Shane Sloane and Zion Sinclair followed me as well. Shane deliberately stepped forward to wrap an arm around me, leaving Zion Sinclair trailing behind us.
Shane Sloane chattered away, everything he said hinting that he had his eye on a new sports car.
This was his usual little ploy. I knew it and usually enjoyed it, but today, I was growing impatient.
He seemed to sense my displeasure and asked me,
"Elara, why aren't you happy?"
I sized him up, wondering if he was genuinely stupid or just playing dumb. 'Thea Hale's little tricks were so clumsy, could he really not see them?'
"Ah, I get it. Elara, are you jealous? Jealous of that girl?"
"Don't worry. I just think her little act is amusing, so I'm just playing along. You're the only one in my heart."
"Once I've had my fun, I'll get rid of her so she won't be an eyesore."
As Shane Sloane spoke that last sentence, he raised a hand to touch his nose—his little tell for when he was lying.
Listening to him try to placate me, I almost laughed out loud.
'Amusing? Just playing along?'
When he proposed, Shane Sloane clearly promised that from that day forward, his eyes would only be for me and that he would never betray me.
'Does he think that just because he's "playing along" with Thea Hale, it doesn't count as betrayal?'
I was sick of it. I pushed him away and, under his incredulous gaze, beckoned to Zion Sinclair.
Back in my room, I leaned into Zion Sinclair's arms and sighed. He silently massaged my temples.
"I wouldn't find her amusing."
Hearing his voice, the corners of my lips curved upward.
'Zion Sinclair was originally my preferred choice for a husband. It's just that the man who marries me needs to be by my side every day, meaning he can no longer go to the office to handle business matters.'
'I cherished his talent and didn't want to see him trapped by my side, so I chose Shane Sloane instead.'
'I still remember how his eyes were rimmed with red back then.'
"Elara, even if I can't be by your side in name, I will always be the one who loves you most."
Lately, Shane Sloane and Leo Fletcher have been acting no different than before on the surface, still spending every day with me, trying to keep me happy.
What they didn't expect, however, was that I'd hired a private investigator to follow them.
The investigator sent me several photos, all showing them kissing Thea Hale at different times and in different places.
'After all this time, they somehow still haven't realized they share the same secret lover.'
Thea Hale hadn't given up on Zion Sinclair, either. She kept trying to engineer "chance" encounters to get close to him, but he coldly rejected her every single time.
"Miss Hale, it would be best if you had a sense of boundaries."
"I am completely devoted to Elara. Don't flatter yourself."
Thinking of Thea Hale, I felt it was almost a shame. 'With her time management and counter-surveillance skills, she could succeed at anything she put her mind to.'
'It's just a shame she has to rely on that whatchamacallit—the Conquest System.'
'Still, I was very satisfied that Zion Sinclair didn't appear in any of those intimate photos. As I thought, Thea Hale couldn't conquer him so easily.'
But as for Shane Sloane and Leo Fletcher, I was well and truly sick of them.
'Perhaps my good temper made them forget they are merely Ward-Husbands of the Rhodes Family.'
I instructed the Butler to freeze Shane Sloane's and Leo Fletcher's cards. I also told him to keep a close watch on the company and to notify me immediately of any stirrings.
'I'll give it one month. If Zion Sinclair can truly ignore her conquest, then I will, of course, give him his reward.'
