Tasting 192

192–My Ruined Ball Gown

Nora:

I couldn’t look away from Silas‘ face. It was as if I wanted to scrutinize his every reaction. However,

he seemed nonchalant. If I hadn’t seen her in the house, I would never have suspected him of

having ever seen her.

“I will rest for a while before dinner is served,” Lord Atwood sighed tiredly, walking away from us,

while Nash attended a call, probably to discuss the breaking news with Ryker, as he was mostly

patrolling the border.

“Ahem!” Now that it was Silas and me, I cleared my throat to initiate a conversation with him. He

casually turned to me, lounging on the couch and raising his brow. He was probably playing a car

racing game. on his phone.

“Did you see the news?” I asked, trying to be less intrusive.

“Which one?” he inquired even more casually.

“The one about the wandering omega on the border? Did you not recognize her?” I asked, and he

steadily put his phone down, looking my way before zoning out as if trying to remember something.

“Not really. Why? Have you seen her before?” It was odd that he had forgotten.

“Silas! She’s the woman I bumped into the other day in the mansion. Remember, you told me she

was your patient?” I smiled, even though I

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was a bit taken aback that he forgot about his patient – not just anyone, but the one who had come

to his mansion for treatment.

“Ah!” He zoned out again, this time squinting his eyes slightly and nodding thoughtfully.

“I guess I remember her. But I can’t be sure. You know, I meet new people every day. So many

patients,” he shrugged, quickly returning to playing on his phone.

“Hmm,” I didn’t know how to continue the conversation when he made it clear he no longer recalled

her. But I did. I remembered her vividly.

“So, how are you feeling?” He kept his eyes on the screen, adjusting his car just a little.

“I’m feeling much better now,” I reassured him.

“Good. Make sure you’re eating and getting enough sleep. You’ll be dancing a lot at the ball, so be

prepared for that,” he chuckled to himself, still focused on the screen.

“You should come too,” I insisted, and he paused the game, turning to look at me.

“I don’t have a mate or a girlfriend,” he said with a shrug.

“Maybe just come? I heard others can join. Even Nash will be there,” I wanted us all to be there, at

least Nash and Silas. As for Cain and Ryker, their presence only brought me stress these days.

“I don’t think so. I have a list of patients piled up, so I’ll be working while everyone else is dancing,”

he replied in a sweet tone. With hist deep voice, whenever he spoke softly, it came out incredibly

charming and cute. I couldn’t quite describe the allure of it.

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“Oh, that’s too bad,” I mumbled.

“Why? You’ll have your alpha with you. It’s not like you were going to dance with me anyway,” he

joked, though it reminded me of the day in the mall when he seemed about to say something before

Brody

appeared and he changed the subject.

“What were you planning to say at the mall the other day?” I inquired, noticing how his body

language tensed up. “And don’t lie about it before you do. I know there was something you wanted

to say, but Brody’s arrival made you hold back. So come on, tell me.” I sat on the carpet, kneeling

beside his couch.

“What?” he acted like he had no clue. So I had to raise my brow and pout, waiting for him to

remember the conversation that was left unfinished the other day.

“You look like a puppy right now,” he teased, patting my head.

“Don’t change the subject,” I groaned, and he laughed even louder.

“Okay,” he relented, “I was saying—if I weren’t your stepbrother, you. would be going to this ball

with me.”

The moment he said that, a shiver ran up my spine, and my body visibly flinched.

“You wanted to know, now deal with those goosebumps yourself,” he remarked, hinting at the

goosebumps on my skin as he got up.

He left the living room chuckling to himself. It was true. Hearing him say that made me shiver and

blush.

“Did he really mean that?” I asked myself, biting my bottom lip.

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He wasn’t the type to flirt with anyone. So far, I hadn’t seen him admire any girl. For him to say all

that to me was indeed unusual but strangely special.

I stood up, a bright smile on my lips. I’d noticed it before as well; every time my stepbrothers

complimented me, I blushed and felt oddly happy.

Since no one was left for me to spend time with, I decided to return to my room and place my dress,

which had arrived earlier, in the closet. It was a heavy gown, and I was afraid of causing it damage.

Taking one step at a time, I reached for my door cautiously.

As soon as I opened the door, a horrifying sight awaited me. The dress was no longer in its cover.

In fact, it was torn apart, burned in places, and left in the middle of my room. I couldn’t react

properly for the first few seconds as I stared at the ruined dress, and when the reality settled on me,

I started screaming.

“Nash!”

“Silas!”

“Lord Atwood!”

I was freaking out. I don’t know what happened in that moment, but I was so angry and scared that I

had to call them to come see what someone had done to my dress. They appeared within minutes.

Even Cain rushed out of his studio to check on the commotion.

“What’s going on–” Nash was the first one to see the room. He was left speechless, with the same

shock on his face as the others.

There was only one explanation for this.

Freaking Natalya had done it.