chapter31

Lydia's inbox was a mess, overflowing with so many DMs that Connor's message didn't even stand a chance. After thinking it over, he decided to just call her instead.

She was in the middle of reading the comments section, watching with a little smile as Connor led his fans in clapping back at the haters. Suddenly, a voice call popped up on her screen. She glanced at the name, hesitated for half a second, then hit decline. Only then did she notice the message he'd sent her.

She didn't waste any time. Her reply was short. "No."

Instead of getting annoyed, Connor actually laughed. He replied, "You saved me last night at Highridge. I'd like to thank you in person."

Lydia stared at her phone for a beat, then typed, "Medical bill is $888. Just send it over."

Connor just stared at his phone. Was that all he was worth to her? Did she really think saving his life was worth $888?

He sent back, "Money is not an issue. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen.

Lydia shot back, "Bring me the stars from the sky."

Connor grinned. He hadn't realized it before, but ever since he'd found Lydia, he couldn't stop smiling. She was still a mystery to him-he didn't know her face, barely knew her name, but she already had him hooked.

He replied, If that's what you want, then consider it done."

He caught himself touching his lips, as if he could still taste that faint sweetness she'd left behind.

Lydia rolled her eyes. She replied, "You helped me today too. We're even. Bye."

No punctuation, no emojis, nothing extra. She honestly didn't have the time to waste on chatty back-and-forths.

Connor sent a few more messages, but when she didn't answer, he finally gave up. Instead, he screenshotted the troll account, 'C. Lambert,' and sent it to Aiden, along with a single instruction. Find out everything about this person today. By tomorrow night, I want them gone from the Capital.

Aiden was already busy, checking in with the top four informants on the dark web, when his boss's message came through. He figured it had to be something serious. Turned out, it was just a random troll trash-talking Chief Lydia.

Honestly, this was nothing. Still, Aiden had to admit, this 'C. Lambert' had managed to bring out that old, sharp-tongued side of the boss that he hadn't seen in years.

Meanwhile, Lydia sat at her desk, sketching. Her pale fingers moved quickly, tracing neat lines across the paper. In just two minutes, the design was done, perfect.

A knock sounded at her door.

She put her pencil down and got up. Yes?

A maid stood in the doorway, looking polite. "Mr. Samuel Jefferson and his grandson Mikey and Chris are here to see you. Your parents asked you to come downstairs."

"The Jeffersons?" Lydia repeated, surprised.

"Yes, Miss Norwood. Because of the arranged marriage between your families, Mr. Jefferson brought his grandsons to visit. They're waiting in the living room."

Lydia blinked. Juna had just mentioned the Jeffersons, and now they were here already? And an arranged marriage seriously? Was this still the Dark Ages? Samuel had called ahead, but the Norwoods were so caught up with Mr. Norwood's health scare that they missed the call. The Jeffersons' arrival was a total surprise. Cameron and Kylie welcomed Samuel and Chris into the house, and as soon as they stepped inside, Samuel asked, "Cameron, where's your father?"

Samuel and Mr. Norwood had been through everything together lifelong friends, practically family. That's why they'd arranged the marriage before Lydia was even born.

Cameron didn't want to spell it all out, so he kept it simple. "He's resting in his room. He's still upset about the mix-up with Lydia and Lucinda.