Back in Victorian Heights, the atmosphere in the living room was tense as Cillian narrated everything that had transpired related to the accident and after Aliana had passed out.

Aliana sat on the plush cushions of one of the sofas with Jade tucked right next to her. Directly opposite them sat Cillian, with Nigel seated calmly by his side.

"As far as we know, the authorities conducted a thorough investigation and found some structural issues with the supports that held up the billboard," Cillian continued explaining. "Due to a severe engineering miscalculation, the heavy frame was simply unable to withstand the pressure, which ultimately led to the accident."

A brief moment of silence settled between them as everyone processed the information.

After some time, Aliana placed her cup of hot tea back onto its saucer before she finally spoke. "So, let me get this straight. After I passed out near the crash site, you happened to be nearby, received a phone call from Gavriel, and then drove us straight here instead?"

"Precisely," Cillian replied, his tone smooth.

"But why here, and not the Valentine residence?" Aliana asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

At that piece of information, Jade’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. She whipped her head around to stare at her best friend. "Wait, the Valentine residence? You mean your fiancé’s house?"

Aliana gave her a brief side-eye before clearing her throat, her voice dropping to a softer tone. "I’ve been... staying there for the time being."

Jade nodded slowly, processing the words, before her eyes practically popped out of her head. "What?! You are already living with him?!"

Aliana sighed, rubbing her temples. "I will explain everything to you later, J. For now, I need an answer."

Shifting her focus squarely back to Cillian, she pressed, "Why here?"

"Well, this penthouse was the closest location to the marketplace, of course," Cillian explained easily. "With you unconscious, Gavriel made a quick decision and called this one right here..." He gestured with his thumb toward Nigel.

Nigel cleared his throat, then leaned forward to explain. "I was already on my way to you, boss, the moment I saw what happened on social media. But Mr. Pierce called me before I could reach you and requested that I meet you all here instead. Since neither of them knew the security passcode to enter this penthouse, I came to help."

"Oh, I suppose that explains it," Aliana murmured, turning the sequence of events over in her mind. Then, she looked back at Cillian. "But he left, and yet you are still here..."

When Cillian raised a curious eyebrow at her trailing sentence, Aliana shifted a little in her seat. "Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to be rude. I was only wondering... I mean..." She pressed her lips together, unsure of how to phrase her question correctly.

Cillian suddenly chuckled, a rich sound that drew the attention of all three onlookers.

"It is perfectly fine, Aliana. Your question is entirely valid, and the answer is actually quite simple."

As they all waited for him to elaborate, Cillian leaned back against the sofa. "I am purely here as his proxy."

The answer had three pairs of eyebrows furrowed in unison.

"What I mean by that is," Cillian continued, his charming smile returning, "since Gavriel had to leave to handle an urgent matter, he strictly ordered me to stay behind and notify him if you woke up."

"I see... but Nigel is also here. He could have done the sa-"

Before Aliana could finish her sentence, Cillian let out a dramatic sigh before placing a hand over his chest.

"How cruel of you, Aliana. I came all the way here to help both of you, and you expected me to leave in that terrible storm outside?" He slowly shook his head in disbelief before giving her a look that suggested she had deeply wronged him.

Aliana instantly felt guilt creeping into her chest at his words.

"I’m sorry," she said sincerely. "I was only trying to understand."

"Hey, I know exactly what you’re doing," Jade suddenly cut in while narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Cillian, as though she could see straight through his theatrics. "Stop trying to make her feel guilty, would you?"

Cillian merely chuckled in response.

"I already sent him a text a while ago," he said casually. "And since I apparently seem to have overstayed my welcome, I suppose I should take my leave."

With another dramatic sigh, Cillian began rising from his seat when Aliana abruptly stood and blurted out, "No! I told you I didn’t mean it like that. The storm outside seems really bad, and I would never allow any of you to leave tonight and risk your safety."

They all looked at her as she quickly added, "I have plenty of rooms here. You can all stay the night."

"Really? So, should I assume this is a slumber party?" Cillian mused, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "My, my, I never thought the day would come that I would be having one again at my age. Ah... it truly brings back memories."

The sly smile on his face resembled that of a satisfied cat, making Jade glare at him suspiciously while Nigel merely gave him a long side glance, silently reconsidering everything he thought he knew about the CEO of Archon Group.

Quite surprisingly, the man had turned out to be far more colourful than Nigel had ever expected, even after witnessing his habit of giving bizarrely offbeat replies to opponents during meetings.

’Ah, you learn something new every day, don’t you?’ Nigel thought while inwardly shaking his head.

Completely ignoring Cillian’s playful comment, Aliana simply looked around at the group. "Let’s order some dinner. You must all be hungry."

"Excellent idea. I will have Chinese, if you don’t mind," Cillian responded almost immediately.

"Is everyone else good with Chinese?" Aliana asked, looking toward Jade and Nigel.

"Fine by me," Jade replied, her suspicious eyes still locked onto Cillian.

"I am perfectly fine with that, boss," Nigel added smoothly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"All right, I will place the order with the restaurant downstairs in the building." Aliana turned and began to walk back upstairs to retrieve her phone when Nigel spoke up.

"I have it handled, boss."

"Thank you, Nigel." She paused on the steps, watching as he already dialled the number.

While he placed the order, Aliana’s gaze drifted back toward the glass windows, staring out at the raging storm that showed absolutely no signs of calming down anytime soon.

Her thoughts wandered back to Gavriel, ’Where are you?’ she wondered silently. ’What could possibly be important enough to make you leave in this kind of weather?’

Just then, Jade came to stand beside her, causing Aliana to turn her attention away from the window. "Hey... why don’t we take this time to talk while those two are busy with the food order?"

Aliana knew there was a great deal to fill Jade in on. She cast a brief look over at Nigel, who was completely occupied with noting down the endless culinary demands Cillian was throwing his way, before giving her friend a nod. "Let’s go up to my room, shall we?"