Ellinor didnât say no. She just gave a nonchalant nod and continued to chow down on her meal.
Ellinor, Balfour, and Byran were not the only people at the table. Their temporary resident, Belinda, was also there.
On seeing Balfour being all sweet and caring to Ellinor, she couldnât help but feel a pang of jealousy for Theo, and her eyes were vigilantly fixed on Balfour.
Balfour naturally felt the hostility from Belinda, but he brushed it off. After finishing his breakfast, he wiped his mouth, bid Ellinor goodbye, and left the dining room. After Balfour left, Belinda couldnât hold back and asked, âEllinor, donât you think Balfourâs behavior towards you is a bit off?â
Ellinor didnât think much of it. âReally?â
Belinda nodded affirmatively. âYes! The way he looks at you is so gentle; heâs even more gentle than he is to his own brother. I suspect he has a thing for you; itâs not safe for you to stay here. If you donât want to go to the Blanchet Villa, come to my place.â
Ellinor, now full, stood up and patted Belindaâs head. âGo home after youâre done eating and stop worrying about me.â
Belinda frowned. âHow can I not worry? Thereâs Balfour and also Bartlett. There are so many men eyeing you. Itâs a total threat for Theo. Ellinor, youâre too irresistible. I canât relax!â
Ellinor just smiled and then looked at Byran, who was still munching on his sandwich. âTake her with you when you go to school later, and have the driver drop her home.â
Byran raised his hand and made an OK gesture.
Then Ellinor slowly walked out to the yard to catch some sun.
Without getting any useful info from Ellinor, Belinda turned her attention to Byran. âTell me! Has Balfour always had a thing for Ellinor? Did he sweet-talk her into staying here?â
Byran rolled his eyes. âYouâre overthinking.â
Belinda glared at him. âThen why is Balfour so nice to Ellinor? Iâve never seen him pay so much attention to any other girl!â
Byran remembered his brotherâs warning not to reveal Ellinorâs identity.
âDoes a man have to have romantic feelings for a woman to care about her? Canât it be pure friendship? Look at me; I have zero feelings for you.â
Belinda looked annoyed. âDuh! I have zero feelings for you too! But I wouldnât call you a good friend, let alone care about you.â
Byran couldnât be bothered to argue further. âIn short, things are not as you think. Are you done eating?
If youâre full, come with me. Ellinor asked me to take you home, so Iâve gotta do it.â
But Belinda noticed something else. âHold on! Byran, didnât you hate Ellinor before? You even said sheâs a scheming girl who was always competing with your sister for men. Now you listen to her so obediently?â
There was a flash of embarrassment in Byranâs eyes. âUh, who hasnât misjudged people and done stupid things when they were young? I misunderstood Ellinor before, but now that I know her, of course Iâll respect her. Enough, what are you even talking about? We gotta leave now.â
Belinda checked the time, and she indeed had some stuff to handle. It was time to go.
Anyhow, she and Byran would be in the same ride; she could grill him on the way.
So she got up and followed Byran out the door.
After getting in the car, Byran gave the driver instructions. âDrop me off at school first, and then take Belinda back to her home.â
The driver responded, âRoger that.â