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A small, cruel smile touched her lips. “The more guilty he feels, the faster he’ll pity me, marry me, and then maybe fall in love. It won’t be hard once I’m his wife. I just have to marry him first... then seduce him. Right now, he won’t even let me touch his damn hand.” She gritted her teeth, breathing through her frustration.

“As for that wife of his... once I’m married, I’ll make sure she disappears completely. To get to him, she has to be out of the way.”

***

Outside the Moretti house, Xander’s nerves were visible as he watched Lorenzo pace back and forth, impatience and anger written all over his face. His jaw was tight, eyes burning with frustration as he tried to keep his cool.

Checking his watch again, Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.

“It’s been over an hour. She’s late. Did you give her the right time?”

Xander nodded, uneasy. “Yes, Mr. Moretti. I gave Doctor Astra the exact time. Maybe something came up, or—she’s just a little late.” He forced a laugh. “Couldn’t be that she’s just arrogant, right?”

Lorenzo shot him a sharp glare. They both knew from their last run-in—when she slammed the car window in his face—that she was exactly that arrogant.

That memory stoked another flame of anger in Lorenzo’s chest.

He exhaled sharply, voice low and warning.

“If she’s not here in the next five fucking minutes—”

A car pulled up suddenly, stopping just a few feet from them.

Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the familiar vehicle. Xander let out a relieved breath.

The window slid down just enough to reveal two people inside. Through the slight opening, he could see Astra sitting in the passenger seat, a man beside her. Both wore medical masks, hiding their faces except for their eyes. Astra also wore a cap.

Darren leaned close to Krystal, whispering quietly. “Even with our faces covered, do you think he’ll recognize you?”

“Shut it,” she hissed, straightening up. “Stop talking about it. As long as I make sure he doesn’t find out, then he won’t know a thing.” Her eyes flicked to Darren, voice low and determined. “This is finally my chance to take back those two years I wasted slaving after this Cactus.”

Darren’s eyes narrowed into a sly grin. She shifted her gaze back to Lorenzo.

The woman met his eyes, then toward the car door, pointing silently with her eyes.

Xander leaned closer to Lorenzo and whispered in a hushed, quick voice, “Mr. Moretti, I think she wants you to open the car door for her.”

Lorenzo shot Xander a hard glare. Xander immediately moved aside and muttered under his breath, “I didn’t ask you to open it. I’m just the messenger, sir.”

Lorenzo turned that same glare to the woman in the car. She just tilted her head, unfazed.

He gritted his teeth. ‘If it weren’t for Esther having no other option in this entire damn world, who would tolerate a woman like this?’

His fury boiled beneath the surface as he strode over and yanked the door open.

The woman behind the mask smirked, stepping out with casual confidence. Straight-leg jeans, a fitted blouse—simple but effortlessly feminine. She held a doctor’s bag, and Lorenzo reached to help, but she jerked it back sharply.

“We doctors don’t like it when people touch our things,” she said coldly. “So, Mr. Moretti, avoid touching me and my equipment.”

Lorenzo’s expression darkened further, the kind of lethal glare that could scorch anyone else if he weren’t forced to keep it in to save Esther.

Unbothered by his fury, the woman adjusted her shoulders, hiding a wide smile behind the mask, and strode past him with arrogant grace.

As she passed, her scent hit him like a memory crashing through the present. A soft, familiar scent of roses—warm, haunting. It wrapped around him before he could brace himself, stealing his breath and freezing him in place. His eyes darted to her again. The scent, the way she moved—everything screamed familiarity. His body tensed instantly.

He spun around, muscles tightening. “Krystal?” he called out before he could stop himself.

She halted mid-step, spine stiffening.