Chapter 199 Mr. Windsor Actually Intercepted
Dusk was settling over the city, painting everything in shades of soft purple.
Nina finished dropping off the contracts at the client's office, and by the time she stepped outside, rush hour traffic had turned the streets into a standstill.
She sighed. No point fighting it.
There was a nice café on the corner—tasteful décor, a few outdoor tables near the entrance.
Her stomach made the decision for her. She went in and found a quiet table in the back.
The dessert menu was dangerously tempting.
After deliberating far too long, she settled on a coffee, a club sandwich, and a slice of chocolate mousse cake.
The food came out fast.
She lifted her coffee and took a good long sip.
The next second her face crumpled, tongue out, hand fanning frantically. Too bitter.
Up on the second floor, Ethan was in the middle of a business meeting.
He glanced down and caught a familiar figure below.
Something in his eyes shifted—unmistakable warmth.
Then he saw the face she was making over the coffee.
The severity in his expression dissolved. A smile pulled at his mouth before he could stop it.
Nina raised her hand to flag a server, communicating in sign language.
She needed sugar.
The server returned with a dispenser, and Nina's whole face lit up like she'd just been handed something precious.
One cube. Two. Three.
She counted under her breath, fully focused, dropping each one in with great care.
By the sixth cube the coffee was nearly at the rim. She stopped, satisfied.
Ethan stared. Was she trying to make candy?
The whole thing was hopelessly endearing.
"Mr. Martinez, regarding the proposal..." the man across from him pressed on.
Ethan pulled his attention back, his tone snapping back to its usual register.
"Move ahead with it. I have somewhere to be. We'll go over the details next time."
The man got the message and stood to leave.
"Of course, Mr. Martinez."
Ethan got up and headed downstairs.
His steps were steady and unhurried, the kind that cleared a path without asking.
By then, Nina had both hands wrapped around her sandwich, cheeks stuffed, completely in her own world.
When Ethan's shadow fell over her table, she went rigid.
She dropped the sandwich, grabbed her bag, and made a run for it.
He was faster. His hand caught her wrist before she got anywhere—large and warm, grip easy but firm. "Don't run."
His voice was quiet, unhurried. "Finish what's in your mouth first. I don't want you to choke."
Around her, he had all the patience in the world.
Nina dropped her eyes and chewed slowly, very aware of him standing there.
When she finally swallowed, she grabbed her sugar-loaded coffee and took two large gulps to buy herself another second.
Then she looked up.
Ethan had already produced. He leaned in and wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth, then cleaned her hands.
His breath was warm against her skin. Nina's heart stuttered.
"Why are you avoiding me?" His voice was soft, his eyes steady on hers. "Do you really not want to see me?"
Nina jerked her hand free and began signing frantically. "I'm not avoiding you. I hope you're happy. I just don't have a taste for sweet things anymore.'
Don't have a taste for sweet things anymore.
Ethan looked pointedly at the coffee that was more sugar than liquid, caught somewhere between amused and exasperated.
Her excuses had always been terrible.
His expression softened, his voice dropping. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm not going to do that again—casually get involved with someone. I mean it."
Nina stared at him. Then she started signing fast. "Who you date is none of my business. I don't care. It doesn't affect me at all."
Ethan's expression went flat.
He held her gaze and said, plainly and without hesitation, "Nina, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
The air stilled.
Nina stared at him, her mind completely empty.
A few seconds passed. She came back to herself and signed in a rush. "I can't be your girlfriend. I can't speak. People would look down on you. I have to go home. Goodbye. Actually—goodbye forever.'
She turned to leave, but her eyes remained on the untouched mousse cake.
Ethan grabbed her again, not letting her go.
Out of options, she grabbed his hand and bit down hard. He flinched and let go.
She was gone before he could react, bolting like she'd been spooked.
Ethan looked at the bite mark on the back of his hand—clear, slightly damp—then up at her retreating figure. He laughed softly.
His heart was hammering.
...
Late that night, Nina lay in bed unable to settle, shifting restlessly under the covers.
In the next room, Evelyn was just as wide awake, staring at the ceiling.
Emma, on the other hand, was out cold—breathing steadily, a faint smile on her face.
Whatever Nicholas had been doing, it showed.
The day of departure for Empire City finally came.
Nicholas and Luke's private jet left at dawn.
Evelyn and Emma flew commercial.
The flight was strange from the start.
The cabin was nearly empty, as though someone had gone out of their way to clear it.
Four large, stone-faced men were seated in first class.
Business and economy each had exactly two quiet female passengers.
Evelyn looked around and leaned toward Emma. "Did we charter this flight? Must be the weather. Nobody wants to fly north in winter."
Emma sensed it too—something was off—but she just shook her head.
Neither of them knew that every person on board, flight attendants included with their perfectly calibrated smiles, was a shadow bodyguard placed there by Nicholas and Luke.
Even so, both men were already in Empire City and still on edge, running through every possible way the journey could go wrong.
The plane touched down without incident at Empire City International Airport.
In the pickup area, Nicholas's Maybach and Luke's Cullinan were parked side by side, dark and imposing against the overcast sky.
The plan was straightforward: each man takes one woman, straight to Nicholas's estate.
Good views, better security.
Then a black executive van rolled up and stopped nearby.
The door opened and Louis Windsor stepped out.
He gave Nicholas and Luke a brief nod, then leaned against the van and lit a cigarette.
Smoke drifted around a face that was striking but deliberately closed off. He was clearly waiting for someone.
A few minutes later, Evelyn and Emma came through the terminal doors with their luggage.
The automatic doors slid open and cold air swept in.
They saw the three men standing by their cars and slowed.
Nicholas moved immediately, his eyes going straight to Emma. "Emma."
His voice was quiet as he reached for her luggage. A slender hand cut him off.
"Mr. Harrison, no need to trouble yourself." Evelyn's tone was courteous and final. "We have someone picking us up."
Luke's eyes shifted. He stepped forward "Evelyn, let me take your bag."
Evelyn moved just enough to put herself out of reach, her voice as cool as the air outside. No need, Mr. White."
Then she turned, her whole face opening up into a bright smile as she called across to Louis. "Mr. Windsor, could you help with our bags?"
Louis dropped his cigarette and covered the distance in a few long strides, his driver right behind him.
"Miss Jackson, Ms. Rodriguez—thank you for making the trip." His smile was easy and genuine. He glanced at their jackets "Are you cold?"
Evelyn smiled wider. "Not at all."
Luke's expression darkened. She'd told him once that she couldn't stand the cold. He remembered it clearly..
Louis held the car door open and saw them in. The heating inside was dialed in perfectly—warmth settled over them the moment the door closed. The car pulled away smoothly.
Luke watched the taillights disappear and said through his teeth, "Mr. Harrison, your wife just left with another man. Might be worth thinking about what that says about how you've been treating her."
Nicholas didn't miss a beat. "Your wife and child are in that same car. Keep this up and the baby won't even carry your name."
Luke's face went dark. "So what's the move?"
Nicholas's eyes were unreadable, calculated. "Louis will take them to the Windsor family's hot springs resort." He let the pause sit, then looked at Luke. "Empire City is your territory. What do you think we should do?"
"Still playing it careful? Still hoping to marry into the Windsors?"
Every word between them landed like a blade, finding the exact spot it would hurt most.
Luke laughed, though nothing about it was warm.
"That won't work on me. The alliance is real—the Windsor elders have never walked back their position on Olivia."
He let the next part land slowly. "If they ever found out Olivia is the legendary Dr. N, I imagine..."
Nicholas's expression went darker.
After a beat, he came back with something even sharper. "The Windsor family is certainly generous to the Whites—hot springs accommodations and everything. Though I wonder whether hot springs are safe for Evelyn this early in the pregnancy."
"Damn it." Luke dropped all composure, wrenched his car door open, and got in.
Nicholas stayed where he was and lit a cigarette at his leisure.
The flicker of worry that had crossed his face a moment ago was already gone.
His Emma was was pregnant too—otherwise she'd probably have outrun them both.
...
The snow in Empire City came down without restraint.
Everything between the sky and the ground had gone white.
The sight of it brought Emma back, briefly, to her time in Luminous City—where the snow had felt just as endless.
The black van pulled smoothly under the portico of an upscale private club.
Louis held the door open.
Warmth hit them the moment they stepped inside, carrying the smell of food.
Louis had reserved the restaurant's signature prime rib roast and a charcuterie board.
The copper pot sat over glowing coals, steam rising steadily from it.
Louis was good company over dinner—full of stories about Empire City, its history and legends, its history and legends, always finding the angle that was most worth hearing.
Evelyn laughed until she couldn't breathe.
Emma smiled too, and found herself genuinely admitting that Louis had taste and knew how to enjoy things.
But his eyes kept drifting back to Emma.
When she bent her head to cut her beef, the line of her neck caught the light in a way that stayed with him.
Each time it did, something in him settled a little deeper.
He stood to refill her tea.
Leaning close, he caught a faint, clean scent from her hair—barely there, but it did something to him he couldn't quite name.
"Hot springs in the middle of a snowfall," he said as he set down the teapot, his voice carrying just enough suggestion. "There's nothing quite like it."
Evelyn's eyes lit up immediately. "That sounds incredibly romantic."
Emma's smile stayed in place, but something behind it went quiet. She knew hot springs weren't safe this early in a pregnancy.
But Evelyn looked so excited, and Louis so at ease—she wasn't going to say anything here.
She'd pull Evelyn aside at the hotel.
After dinner, Louis was as good as his word.
The car wound west west into the mountains, toward the resort.
The door opened and the cold rushed in. Emma instinctively pulled her shoulders in.
Louis had already come to her side.
An assistant stood ready with a white down coat.
Louis took it and draped it over her shoulders, his hands settling naturally around them, drawing her gently in.
"Put this on," he said near her ear, his voice soft enough to disarm. "I don't want you catching cold."
She looked up at him. His eyes were full of genuine concern. "Thank you." She gave him a polite smile. He was gracious, attentive—almost too attentive.
Nearby, an assistant handed Evelyn a black coat.
In the darkness beyond the resort entrance, a black Maybach sat without moving.
Nicholas watched from inside—the white coat going over Emma's shoulders, Louis's arms drawing her in.
His hands pressed into his knees. His knuckles went white.
Then three black SUVs bearing government insignia came tearing up and screeched to a stop in front of the resort.
The show was about to begin.