Stella's face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson.

She shot him an irritated glare. "How can you make jokes at a time like this?"

Caleb's gaze was laced with amusement. "The friendship between you girls is fascinating."

"Stop dodging the question. Be serious—did you actually go last night or not?"

"I went."

Caleb had no reason to lie about it. "Nothing catastrophic happened."

"Then why hasn't he come to see Lemira?"

"The kid's sick. He's laid up in a hospital bed."

Stella was genuinely stunned. "Are you serious? I thought Mrs. Amanda was the one who was sick?"

"Two separate things. The weather took a sharp turn, and a nasty flu is going around."

Caleb began setting the breakfast plates on the table. "Go wake your best friend so we can eat."

Stella spun on her heel and marched straight toward Lemira's room.

Watching her hurry off, Caleb thought back to the state he had found Orion in last night. A calculating look flickered in his dark eyes before he lowered his head and finished prepping the food.

Down the hall, Stella slipped into the master bedroom. "Lemira, are you feeling any better?"

"Much better."

Lemira was already awake. Thanks to the heavy dose of medication, the fever had broken, leaving her feeling significantly lighter.

She pushed herself into a sitting position. "Thank you both for taking care of me."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course we're going to take care of you. But Caleb is the one doing all the cooking, not me."

Stella watched her carefully before tentatively asking, "What exactly happened between you and Orion? Can you talk about it?"

The faint smile vanished from Lemira's lips instantly.

Stella immediately backpedaled. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But I did have Caleb check on the Everhart situation last night. If you don't even want to hear his name, I'll drop it."

Lemira looked up, her gaze locking onto Stella. "What's the situation over there?"

Orion still hadn't reached out to her.

Stella hesitated for a second. "He's sick."

Lemira's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Sick?"

That was his excuse?

Stella nodded. "That's what Caleb said. He probably caught the same flu you did."

A flash of bitter mockery crossed Lemira's eyes. "If it was just the flu, he would have had five seconds to send a text."

"That's true... He hasn't messaged you at all since yesterday?"

Lemira shook her head.

Stella knew there was something far deeper going on, otherwise Lemira wouldn't look so utterly devastated over a lack of communication.

But since Lemira was keeping her walls up, Stella didn't push.

"It's getting late," Stella said gently. "Get up and have something to eat. You need to take your next dose of medizine soon. The weather is completely unpredictable right now; it's easy to catch a cold."

After changing into fresh clothes, Lemira walked out to the dining area, feeling too

guilty to let them serve her in bed again.

Caleb remained silent, not even glancing in Lemira's direction.

That actually made Lemira feel more at ease. She sat down and quietly picked at her food.

Stella kept a watchful eye on her but didn't press the issue.

Once breakfast was over, Lemira looked at Stella. "I'm going to take the afternoon

off from classes. Don't worry about me."

"I'll bring you some takeout for dinner."

Stella was still anxious, but she understood that Lemira needed space to process whatever was destroying her.

Lemira looked over at Caleb. "Thank you both."

Caleb gave a curt nod, offering no verbal response.

Lemira retreated back into her bedroom.

Stella waited until Caleb finished cleaning up, and the two of them left the apartment together.

As they walked, Stella looked up at him Could you talk to Orion?, Tell him bermira is sick. Is he really not going to come check on her?"

Caleb glanced down at her and stayed silent.

Stella grit her teeth, grabbed his shirt, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

But the towering man barely leaned down, forcing her to clumsily kiss his jaw instead.

Stella's face flushed a violent red.

Caleb let out a

out a low rumbling laugh

and reached out to affectionately

ruffle her hair. "I'll ask him."

Stella immediately looked at the ground, refusing to say another word.

She remained stubbornly silent for the rest of the walk.