—
As Zoe Rhodes's consciousness faded in and out, she felt a hand caressing her face.
The hand was cool to the touch, its caress so light it tickled her skin. She flinched instinctively.
The hand's owner seemed to freeze, not moving again for a long time.
She struggled to open her eyes, but the world around her was pitch-black. The only thing Zoe Rhodes could sense was a person by her bed.
Her eyes hadn't adjusted yet, so she could only make out a blurry silhouette.
It had the build of a man.
The presence beside her felt completely unfamiliar.
It definitely wasn't Zane Hawthorne.
Her face felt a little itchy. She tried to rotate her wrist but couldn't lift her hand.
Huh? The restraints on her wrists tightened the more she struggled...
Zoe Rhodes was instantly wide awake.
'I've been kidnapped?!'
This was the kind of thing she'd only ever seen in TV shows!
Zoe Rhodes's mind went blank.
'Who would be so audacious? To sneak into Zane Hawthorne's house, knock me out, and take me away!'
'Are they here for revenge against Zane Hawthorne?'
'So why kidnap me?!'
"Awake?"
A strange voice suddenly sounded from above her, tinged with a hint of amusement.
'He doesn't sound like a good person.'
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?" she asked, forcing herself to sound calm.
"This isn't a kidnapping. I just invited you here to confirm something."
Zoe Rhodes didn't believe him. The gloomy atmosphere, combined with his casual tone, made her feel like she was about to be killed and have her body disposed of.
"What is it? We can talk this out!"
"So obedient, are we?" Hearing this, the man chuckled. The abrupt sound echoed in the spacious room, making the atmosphere even eerier.
Zoe Rhodes couldn't see his face, but she could feel his presence drawing closer.
Her mind raced, but before she could come up with a plan, someone blew a puff of air right next to her ear.
"!!!"
It was followed by a voice laced with amusement. "Zoe Rhodes?"
"..." Zoe Rhodes's eyes widened, and she held her breath. "You know me?"
Zoe Rhodes already felt unsafe in the darkness. Now that this "kidnapper" actually knew her, her anxiety skyrocketed.
'If he was after Zane Hawthorne, I might have had a chance of getting out of this alive. I never thought his target was me!'
The kidnapper didn't answer her question directly. "You don't know me."
Zoe Rhodes's eyes darted around. "How could that be? What's your name? My memory isn't the best, but if you're handsome, I might remember you."
The girl's voice was soft and sweet, easily lulling one into dropping their guard, like an elegant trap.
A light, amused chuckle sounded by her ear. The man reached out and pinched her cheek. "Trying to trick me? Use your brain next time."
Furious and flustered, Zoe Rhodes lifted her leg to kick him.
"Don't move," the man said, easily catching her calf. "Move again and you'll be exposed."
He pinched the hem of her skirt as he spoke, his tone both a reminder and a threat.
Zoe Rhodes froze, saying in a panic, "Okay, I won't move!"
"But what did you grab me for? Can you just ask already? If my friend can't find me soon, he's going to call the police."
"His family has some money and connections. You'll be done for if you get caught! Or, how about this, I can have him give you two million? We can resolve this peacefully?"
"Is your friend Zane Hawthorne?"
"You knew, and you still dared to grab me!"
'Everyone knows the Hawthorne Family's status in Capella's political circles. This guy must be insane! If he knows Zane Hawthorne, how dare he kidnap me right under his nose!'
"Aren't you afraid Zane Hawthorne will come looking for you?!"
"He's too busy to worry about himself right now, let alone whether you live or die." The man, in a sudden bout of kindness, told her the truth. "I'm not the one who kidnapped you. It was Zane Hawthorne's fiancée."
"I'm the one who saved you."
Zoe Rhodes's voice was full of suspicion. "Really?"
She didn't believe his bullshit for a second. "If you're such a good guy, can you take me back?"
"I can pay you for your trouble."
"Actually, I have a little money of my own, too."
As if he'd heard the funniest joke, the man laughed so hard his chest shook. "Who told you I was a good guy?"
"..."
Zoe Rhodes was at a loss for words.
She moved her wrists, trying to struggle free of the ropes behind her.
"Stop struggling. The more you struggle, the tighter it gets. Your wrists will be raw soon." The man expertly reached behind her and untied the ropes in a few swift motions. Before pulling away, the cool pads of his fingers gently rubbed the red marks indented in her skin.
He didn't rub for long, though. The moment she was free, Zoe Rhodes scrambled away on all fours, putting as much distance between them as possible.
In the darkness, she fumbled around, trying to find a makeshift weapon.
But she couldn't see a thing. She didn't find a weapon, and instead, her foot missed its mark and she fell right off the bed.
THUD. The sound was accompanied by a short scream.
'Ow, that hurts!'
From a short distance away came the man's teasing, mocking laughter.
Zoe Rhodes lay on the carpet, rubbing her sore wrists. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. How had she ended up in this situation?!
Just a few hours ago, she was planning to make up with her brother and then go on vacation with him.
'Waaah! Why hasn't Ethan Rhodes come to take me home yet!'
All these years, Zoe Rhodes had been well-protected by Ethan Rhodes. She had never been bullied like this before.
The girl's sobs were intermittent.
Perhaps because she was timid and terrified, she didn't dare to cry out loud, letting only faint whimpers escape her lips. In the silent room, the sound was exceptionally clear, and she sounded utterly heartbroken.
After a short while, the man clicked his tongue. The next second, the room was flooded with light.
Zoe Rhodes's crying stopped abruptly. Before she could react, the man walked over, bent down, and scooped her up from the floor.
He supported her bottom with one hand and bounced her lightly against him. His movements weren't gentle, and his words were just as blunt, spoken with a hint of disdain. "All you know how to do is cry. How did Ethan Rhodes raise you to be so spoiled?"
Hearing her brother's name so suddenly, Zoe Rhodes froze.
For a moment, she even forgot to cry, turning her head to stare blankly at the figure holding her.
The man met her gaze without evasion, fully revealing his features to her. He even raised a brow arrogantly. "What are you looking at? Do you know me?"
Zoe Rhodes looked dazed. It's unclear what came to mind, but she asked cautiously, "Is your surname Donovan?"
"..." The smile on the man's face froze. He then dropped the playful expression and narrowed his eyes, studying her.
It seemed he hadn't expected her to actually know him.
"You've seen me before?"
Zoe Rhodes instinctively wanted to shake her head, but in the end, she went against her conscience and nodded.
Of course, she had never seen him before; she had no memory of this face at all.
'It's just... based on my experience watching TV dramas, a guy this good-looking is probably not some random nobody.'
She thought hard, then took a wild guess from her mental list of known villains, picking one who might know her through Ethan Rhodes.
'I can't believe I actually guessed right!'
However, she only remembered his surname was Donovan and that he was her brother's mortal enemy. The two of them had been at odds since college.
As for his full name, she really couldn't remember it.
Unlike the other villain she had encountered, Nathan Bennett came from a noble family in Porten and, because he valued his reputation so highly, rarely showed malice toward anyone.
This man with the surname Donovan, however, was said to be a bad seed by nature. Rotten to the very bone!
"You didn't grab me to threaten my brother, did you?" Zoe Rhodes was like a little hedgehog with all its spines raised, as if she was ready to take this Donovan down with her if he so much as nodded.
'Might as well get it all over with in one go.'
The man looked at her with amusement, thinking she was both stupid and dull, her every thought written plainly on her face.
"Does Ethan Rhodes even need to be threatened anymore?"
"What do you mean?" Zoe Rhodes grew vigilant.
The man tossed her back onto the bed and looked down at her. "He was assassinated by his enemies two years ago. You didn't know?"
"!"
"You're lying!"
'Can't trust the words of a villain!'
"Why would I lie to you?" Donovan tilted his head, his expression innocent. "Do you know who Zane Hawthorne's fiancée is?"
Zoe Rhodes shook her head.
"The eldest daughter of the Kingsley Family."
He bent down, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and asked intimately, "The Kingsley Family of Porten. How about that? Sound familiar?"
"..."
Seeing her stunned, he continued in a slow, deliberate voice, "After the heir to the Kingsley Family had his... accident, the family, in order to maintain their status, had no choice but to pick a girl from a branch family for a marriage alliance with the Hawthorne Family."
The man braced his hands on either side of her, his beautiful, fox-like eyes narrowing slightly. His scorching gaze roamed her face, anticipating her reaction.
His voice was like a demon's whisper. "And who do you think the heir to the Kingsley Family was?"
The girl's pupils contracted violently. Her already tear-filled eyes quickly turned red again, making her look like a lost little bunny, her gaze filled with terror and worry.
The next second, her long lashes trembled, and a single teardrop rolled from the corner of her eye, landing with perfect precision on the back of his hand.
"You're talking nonsense!"
The moment the girl's tear fell, a warmth that wasn't his own spread from his trembling fingertips through his entire body.
The man's hand was shaking, and it was unclear whether it was from excitement or some other emotion. In that moment, he felt as if he had been pulled back more than a decade in time.
"So spoiled... Forget it. Actually..." He sighed, but just as the words were about to leave his lips, he was cut off by a sudden noise from the doorway.
"Donovan Donovan!"
BANG! The closed door was slammed open from the outside.