Chapter 1547:

Either Amelie was infatuated with Nate and saw Corrine as a rival, or she was following orders.

Nate’s firm denial erased the first option, leaving only the second.

Someone had sent Amelie.

Someone powerful from the Independent Continent.

And that place was crawling with dangerous families and factions. The possibilities were too broad, too tangled.

Corrine had witnessed how Nate had been targeted time and again when they were on the Independent Continent. Obviously, enemies lurked everywhere. Now that he had made their relationship public, they saw her as his weak spot. They were trying to use her to get to him.

“You have always been the only woman in my life,” Nate said quietly, stepping closer and wrapping his fingers around hers. His touch was warm, his grip firm. “Before you, I never looked at anyone. And now that I have you… I never will.” There was truth in his voice. Corrine could feel it. She glanced down at their joined hands, her expression unreadable.

“Then tell me. What do you plan to do with Amelie?”

Sweet words meant nothing if there was no justice.

“I will take care of it,” Nate promised.

Corrine pulled her hand back sharply. The dismissal in his voice stung more than she expected.

Clearly, that was not the answer she had been hoping for.

But Nate’s grip tightened. He refused to let her go.

“Let go,” she said through clenched teeth, her brow furrowed.

“No.” The single word landed like a stone.

Her eyes flashed with resentment. “Nate, it sounds like you are protecting her.” He would not reveal Amelie’s background. He would not let Corrine deal with her.

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“Don’t get involved. I promise I’ll handle it.”

That phrase again. Handle it. What did it even mean?

Hearing that, Corrine felt a flare of heat rise to her cheeks—her anger was on the verge of erupting.

She drew in a slow, deliberate breath, silently reminding herself that losing her temper now would only make things worse. Arguing would solve nothing.

But Nate’s response grated on her nerves.

He had said he would handle it.

She wondered what Nate implied by that statement.

Would he just brush it off? Pretend it would disappear on its own?

Did he not understand? If Amelie had given her a full dose of that drug, enough to make her unconscious for longer, Corrine might have already been transported to Soliboria.

And if she had not hidden that dinner knife for protection… what then? What would have happened to her?

“I am tired. I am going to my room.” Her voice was tight with restraint as she yanked her hand free and stormed off.

Behind her, Nate watched silently, his brow knitting in frustration.

It was not Amelie he was trying to shield. It was Corrine. She just could not see that yet.

Corrine returned to her room in a rush of fury, the door slamming behind her with a resounding bang.

The sound jolted Maddox and Saul, who were standing outside, casually smoking on the porch.

Maddox chuckled, a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes. “See? Nate was so proud of Corrine’s sharp tongue earlier. Looks like trouble found him now.”

Saul said nothing. Something about the tension in the air told him today would not pass quietly.

But Maddox? He felt no such weight. He sauntered down the steps, cigarette between his fingers. The corner of his mouth curled in amusement. “You spoil women too much, you lose your edge,” he muttered to no one in particular. “Give them the world, and they will still storm off when you draw a line.” He took a slow, deliberate drag from his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke into the cold air, and added with a wistful sigh, “Women are the most unpredictable creatures walking this earth.”

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