Zoe Rhodes had already cried several times today.
It wasn't that she cried easily.
But for the past decade or so, she had grown used to a life under Ethan Rhodes's care. Now that she was away from him, she realized she couldn't take a single step on her own.
The rowdy drunk beside her had already been taken away. Nathan Bennett tightened the jacket around her shoulders, then smoothly knelt down in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level.
He returned her phone to her. "Donovan Donovan just gave this to the police."
"They reviewed the security footage. He wasn't the one who kidnapped you."
"He's still a bad person," Zoe Rhodes retorted in a small voice.
Nathan Bennett neither agreed nor disagreed. Wiping the tears from the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, he said, "He's always been like that—speaks without thinking. Don't take it to heart."
"Is your brother's phone still unreachable?"
Zoe Rhodes tilted her head to the side, subtly avoiding his hand. Her voice was muffled. "Donovan Donovan said something happened to my brother."
She couldn't find Ethan Rhodes.
"Your brother?" Nathan Bennett put on a convincing act of ignorance. "Ethan Rhodes? I think I heard Donovan Donovan mention him just now."
At the mention of the name, Nathan Bennett's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The girl hummed a soft "mm," her voice once again tinged with the verge of tears.
Seeing this, Nathan Bennett had no choice but to continue, "I've heard a thing or two about Ethan Rhodes in Porten. The Bennett and Kingsley families have been friends for generations. When I visited the Kingsleys last month, they said Ethan has been recovering quite well recently and that there's hope he might wake up."
"Wake… wake up?" Zoe Rhodes froze for a moment. When it registered, she grabbed his hand and asked in a rush, "He's not dead? What happened to my brother?"
Meeting her gaze, Nathan Bennett sighed. "Why would Donovan Donovan spout such nonsense about this, too?"
"Ethan Rhodes was just in a car accident while on a business trip abroad before the New Year. Although he's been in a coma ever since, it's not as bad as Donovan Donovan made it out to be."
"He's still alive."
The three words were like a tranquilizer, leaving Zoe Rhodes both shocked and overjoyed.
'But… I don't think the original novel ever mentioned Ethan Rhodes getting into a car accident, did it?'
'The novel said that at the height of his success, Ethan Rhodes was targeted by a coalition of villains. He ended up accidentally breaking his leg, fell into despair, and chose to commit suicide.'
"Just a coma? Is his leg okay?"
"I haven't heard anything about a leg injury."
Zoe Rhodes's eyes lit up!
'This means the plot of this world hasn't progressed as far as I thought.'
'My brother's leg isn't injured. Does that mean the villains haven't ganged up on him yet?!'
'Ah, no wonder this Nathan Bennett doesn't seem like a villain yet!'
'Turns out he hasn't had his villain arc.'
Zoe Rhodes convinced herself in a single second.
"So, you're not Zane Hawthorne's sister, but Ethan Rhodes's sister?" Nathan Bennett chuckled. "So you were looking for Ethan Rhodes all along."
"If you had told me earlier, we'd probably be on a plane back to Porten by now."
Porten.
That one word was like a switch for Zoe Rhodes.
"Are you going back to Porten now? Would it be convenient for you to take me to see Ethan Rhodes?!"
"Of course."
Nathan Bennett said, "I'm very happy you're willing to trust me."
---
After boarding the plane, it wasn't long before Zoe Rhodes fell asleep.
In less than half a day, she had experienced the highest highs and lowest lows of her life. Her brain had crashed and was no longer functioning.
Nathan Bennett didn't deliberately watch her every move.
The young woman had come from a decade in the past and was curious about everything here. She was still a little wary of him, forcing herself to stay awake for a long time before she finally couldn't hold on any longer and slumped to the side, fast asleep.
Now, Nathan Bennett could observe her openly.
She was sleeping soundly, curled up into a small ball in the corner, keeping her distance. The man couldn't help but let the corner of his lip curl into a smile.
'Trying to be wary of him only after she's already boarded a pirate ship… isn't it a little too late for that?'
After staring at her for a long time, Nathan Bennett slowly raised his hand and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead.
Zoe Rhodes was a deep sleeper. She didn't wake up when the plane landed, nor when she was carried off.
She had probably been through too much today. Her mind was exhausted and needed a proper rest.
「Hillcrest Manor.」
Nathan Bennett walked with light steps and placed her on the bedroom bed. The man, who was usually a neat freak, was now sitting on the edge of the bed, helping the girl take off her shoes and socks.
The butler was about to brighten the night light nearby but was stopped by a look.
Not daring to disturb them, the butler quietly withdrew.
In the long corridor, the lights flickered.
A light rain was falling over Porten tonight, and the wind on the hill was a bit blustery. The butler walked to the end of the hall to close a window, then turned and curiously asked the secretary, who had also been shooed out and was standing not far away.
"Alan, didn't Mr. Bennett go to Capella for Miss Kingsley's engagement party? Who is this young lady he brought back?"
Alan thought for a moment. "She seems to be Ethan Rhodes's sister."
"Ethan Rhodes?" The butler was taken aback. "You mean that one from the Kingsley family…?"
"He actually has a sister?"
"They aren't blood-related," Alan said, shaking his head.
"So, Mr. Bennett is…?" The butler recalled that Nathan Bennett and Ethan Rhodes's relationship wasn't nearly good enough for him to be taking care of the other's sister.
Before Ethan Rhodes's accident, the two of them had nearly come to blows publicly over a project.
In the end, it took the young master of the Donovan family to step in and quell the conflict.
"Perhaps he's doing a good deed," Alan said with an awkward expression.
After he spoke, the two exchanged a glance, both wanting to laugh at the words.
A good deed? Nathan Bennett?
Whoever believed that needed to get their eyes checked.
Zoe Rhodes's sleep was not very peaceful.
She had a long dream.
In the dream, a disheveled Ethan Rhodes knelt on the ground as a long blade pierced his chest, its tip glinting coldly in the moonlight.
An unknown voice, cold and devoid of any inflection, sounded from nearby.
"Ethan Rhodes."
"You should have died long ago."
"You just met her first, using that status to coax her into staying by your side. How pure are your feelings for her, really?"
"She was never yours to begin with."
"…"
Zoe Rhodes woke with a start, suddenly realizing a problem.
Even if the villains were good people now, in the near future, they would still drive Ethan Rhodes to his death for the sake of the female lead.
It was an unchangeable ending.
Unless…
Unless these villains could let go of the female lead!
How could she make them let her go?
Zoe Rhodes sat on the bed and thought for a long time. Finally, she opened a social media app and posted: [What should I do if my brother has too many romantic rivals?]
When a maid knocked on the door, Zoe Rhodes had already washed up.
The maid brought her a new set of clothes. After changing, she followed the maid downstairs.
"Is Mr. Bennett not here?"
The first-floor dining room was empty; Nathan Bennett was nowhere to be seen.
"The master left early this morning."
"However, the master instructed that the young miss may go wherever she pleases."
As she spoke, the maid handed over an ID card and a black card. "The manor's driver is on standby twenty-four hours a day. If the young miss is bored, you are welcome to go out."
"When will he be back?" Zoe Rhodes hadn't forgotten about her plan to see her brother.
"I'm not sure of the specifics. The master only said he would be back late."
Zoe Rhodes didn't want to just sit and wait. "Then… can I go to his company to find him?"
'Of course, she wasn't going to find Nathan Bennett. She was going to find the female lead!'
'Based on the current timeline, the female lead should still be working at Nathan Bennett's company.'
'If I remember correctly, the female lead is Nathan Bennett's assistant.'
'In the original novel, Nathan Bennett developed feelings for the female lead over time. After learning she liked someone else, one second he was smiling and saying it was fine, and the next, he'd locked her up in a dark room!'
'It was said that Nathan Bennett's level of depravity was among the highest of all the villains. He had a whole room of "toys" prepared just for the female lead, and he tortured her to within an inch of her life!'