Chapter 76: Chapter 76: A Maiden’s Heart Stirs

Lila’s POV

’I must be hallucinating.’ My mind was on Jasper as I turned to see who had arrived.

He wasn’t in formal wear, just a well-tailored, navy blue linen shirt. The cuffs were casually rolled up to his forearms, revealing a pair of sleek wrists. On one was a diver’s watch, its crystal bearing a faint, almost invisible scratch. His jawline was sharp, and his eyes held the same open, honest quality they had when he was a boy, though now with a few fine lines at the corners, like gentle marks left by the passing of time.

It was Caleb Thorne.

His steps were unhurried, his gaze calm. He carried an air of unspoken familiarity and… a desire to protect.

Out of gratitude for him taking me in recently, I didn’t shy away from his approach. I just hadn’t expected Zoe to invite Caleb this time.

Lilith, who had been secretly watching me from a distance, immediately made her way over.

She held a glass of champagne, her skirt fluttering gently in the sea breeze like a suddenly blooming rose—one with hidden thorns. On her stiletto heels, she approached step by step, her voice deliberately soft and sweet, like velvet dipped in honey. “Lila, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

She turned slightly to her side, allowing the curve of her skirt to fall perfectly. Her fingertips, feigning nonchalance, brushed against the sliver of forearm exposed by his rolled-up sleeve. The movement was light, carrying a probing, almost provocative intimacy.

Caleb didn’t even glance at her. His eyes remained fixed on my face.

His gaze seemed to say, ’I see you. You’re here. You’re all right.’

Then, he raised his hand.

It wasn’t to return Lilith’s flirtation, but to steadily offer me the iced lemonade he had just gotten, its glass beaded with condensation.

“Here, to cool you down.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear, like a piece of smooth, warm jade dropping into my ear.

The smile on Lilith’s face froze, like a mask suddenly torn. The fingers holding her champagne flute trembled almost imperceptibly, and the golden liquid inside rippled.

Just then, Martha appeared.

She was like a silent shadow, materializing noiselessly at Lilith’s side. One hand, with an entirely natural yet undeniable force, took hold of her daughter’s arm.

The movement was gentle, yet it was like an invisible chain, instantly pulling Lilith back from the weightless void of her embarrassment.

“Lilith, would you accompany me to the restroom?” Martha’s voice was gentle and soft, carrying the unique, reassuring comfort of a mother.

The two of them walked away, their whispered words scattering on the wind.

Martha warned her daughter, “He’s Caleb Goodrich, Lila’s adoptive brother.” Each word was like an ice-coated needle, piercing the air and Lilith’s taut nerves. “His father’s fund had three major blow-ups last year, and the liquidation isn’t even over.”

“New money has shallow roots. One strong wind, and they’re gone.” Martha’s voice was like a cold ruler, measuring everything. “You deserve a more stable anchor.”

She raised a finger and, with a gentleness that was almost a boastful display of affection, tapped the priceless ruby earrings on Lilith’s earlobes. “You are my daughter,” she said, her voice lowering but carrying an undeniable, maternal authority. “I will help you choose the very best son-in-law.”

Lilith bit her lower lip and said nothing. But in the depths of her eyes, a hotter, fiercer, more dangerous fire ignited. That flame burned away all her feigned sweetness, leaving only raw, fully kindled ambition.

Just then, Zoe appeared with two mojitos, weaving lightly through the crowd like a gust of mint-scented wind.

She pressed one of the glasses into Lilith’s hand, the condensation instantly dampening her fingers.

“Oh my, who has our Lilith set her sights on?” Zoe’s smile was bright, her eyes curving into crescents. Her voice was as crisp as a wind chime. “Let me guess…”

Before she could finish, she leaned in close to Lilith’s ear.

The sea breeze lifted a stray lock of her hair, brushing it against the sensitive shell of Lilith’s ear. Zoe’s whisper was as light as a feather, yet it carried an all-knowing, almost cruel gentleness:

“Caleb? So sorry, I forgot to tell you. He got engaged last month. His fiancée is the daughter of the central bank’s deputy governor—Penelope Vanderbilt.”

The color instantly drained from Lilith’s face, leaving it as blank as a canvas stripped of all its pigment.

She suddenly clenched the mojito glass in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her nails nearly dug into the thin glass. Inside the cup, the mint leaves and lime wedges spun and collided wildly in the violent tremor.

————

The sea breeze gentled under the observation gallery on the west side of the deck.

The area was gently enclosed by two rows of tall, potted jacaranda trees. Their lush branches cast a shifting, grassy-scented shade. The sun was slowly setting, generously spilling its last intense, warm, golden-red light across the teak deck, gilding the hand-forged silver vine motifs at the top of the gallery columns.

Lilith “ran into” Caleb for the third time.

She had clearly prepared meticulously for this. She had changed into a backless silk gown—a moon-white base, its hem draping like water, shimmering with the soft luster of mother-of-pearl in the slanting sunlight. Her hair was loosely pinned up, a few lazy strands trailing down her neck, accentuating the clear, smooth line of her pale back. On her earlobes, the ruby earrings were set ablaze by the sunset, glowing brilliantly like two clusters of silent flame.

She carried a glass of iced rose myrtle wine, its sides covered in fine beads of condensation that refracted the slanting sunlight into tiny specks of light. She walked on her stilettos, her steps as light as a hummingbird drawn to a source of nectar, heading straight for Caleb, who was leaning against a column.

“Cousin Caleb,” she cooed, her voice soft, the end of her words lilting upward with a perfectly measured, probing intimacy. “This wine is made from wild rose myrtle… It’s crisp with a sweet finish, and it has a hint of wild berry aroma.” She offered the glass to him, her fingertips feigning carelessness as they brushed the back of his hand. The movement was deft, a nearly provocative, sacrificial-like temptation. “Interested in a taste?”

Caleb didn’t take it.

He didn’t even glance down at the glass.

His gaze traveled over her shoulder, past the air stained honey-gold by the sunset, and landed—steadily, firmly—on the center of the deck, twenty paces away.

There, Lila was leaning over to help Zoe adjust an old-fashioned gramophone.

The gramophone was a treasure Zoe had picked up at an antique market. Its brass horn was covered in fine scratches left by the years, yet it still held a warm luster. Lila was half-kneeling on the deck, her knees holding down her skirt, one hand steadying the horn while the other carefully adjusted the angle of the needle. The sea breeze had picked up again, gently sweeping across her forehead, lifting a few soft strands of hair to reveal her smooth brow and the small, starkly designed Wolf Head Pendant at her neck.

The golden light of the sunset fell right on the pendant.

It glinted, like a star sunk deep in the ocean suddenly surfacing—briefly, yet with incredible clarity, it illuminated the entire twilight.

Caleb’s gaze was fixed right there.

“Lilith,” he finally spoke. His voice was quiet, but it was like a cube of ice dropped into a glass of wine, instantly freezing the cloyingly sweet air. “Take back your drink, and take back your clumsy advances.”

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