Quiana and Hunter had been cuddling in the study for a while when they came out and saw Kelsey walking toward them from the garden.
"Kaitlyn!"
Kelsey called out to her but noticed her face was pale, like she had lost her soul. "What's wrong with you? Your face looks awful…" she asked with concern, holding her hand. "Your hand is freezing… Are you feeling sick? Do you want my husband to take a look at you?"
Kelsey shook her head and smiled at her. "I might need to leave early. I was supposed to spend more time with you tonight, but I have to cancel. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. We'll have plenty of time in the future," Quiana squeezed her hand. "Should I have the driver take you back?"
"Okay."
Kelsey really didn't want to see Rhett and Elise again, but she didn't expect to bump into them in the parking lot.
The driver was already waiting in the car.
Rhett saw Kelsey and Quiana walking out of the elevator from a distance. He opened the car door for Elise to get in, but didn't do anything else.
It wasn't until Kelsey walked up to them that he said in a flat voice, "Can I give you a ride?"
Kelsey ignored him and walked around him, still talking to Quiana as they headed toward the car.
Quiana heard Rhett and looked at him with surprise. "Since when did President Clark become so kind-hearted? That's not like you."
Rhett didn't reply. He just looked at Kelsey and said only two words: "On the way."
Kelsey clenched her fists. Before she could say anything, Quiana spoke first, "You don't even know where Kaitlyn lives. How could it be on the way?"
She looked at the two of them suspiciously, feeling like something was off between them. "You really didn't know each other before?"
Kelsey shook her head. "No."
She took Quiana's hand and said, "Let's go. Mr. Clark and I aren't going the same way."
She pretty much pulled Quiana into the car.
Quiana looked at her strangely. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Kelsey's lips turned pale. She opened her mouth and instinctively looked into Quiana's eyes, but then looked away.
She really thought of Quiana as a friend and didn't want to lie to her, but...
She struggled to speak. "I'm sorry, I…"
"Forget it. If you don't want to say it, don't force yourself." Quiana interrupted her, waving her hand. "We've only known each other for a short time. If you want to tell me later, that's fine. I'm not that nosy. I don't want to hear any secrets."
Quiana mumbled a few words, then gave her a casual smile.
Kelsey looked at her gratefully and said, "Thank you."
Quiana had really high emotional intelligence and could make people feel at ease whenever she wanted.
Even Elise once said it was really easy to be friends with her.
But Kelsey didn't know Quiana came from such a powerful family at first. They only got close because they genuinely clicked.
After watching Kelsey leave, Quiana walked back.
She saw that Rhett had already gotten in the car, and she suddenly felt a little uneasy.
The atmosphere between these three people was weird, but she couldn't tell exactly what was wrong…
But when she remembered Elise saying she knew someone who looked a lot like Kaitlyn, maybe that was why she felt awkward around her.
Thinking about it like that, it all kind of made sense.
After all, sometimes when she looked at Kaitlyn, she couldn't help but think of Kelsey.
Even now, she still couldn't totally believe it was just a coincidence.
Kelsey and Kaitlyn looked exactly alike, and sometimes she even mistook Kaitlyn for Kelsey and thought Kelsey was standing right in front of her.
Inside the car.
Elise thought she was used to the quiet between them, but when the air turned suffocating, she realized that she and Rhett had reached the point where there was nothing left to say.
Before, they could still fake things and pretend everything was normal.
But Kaitlyn's appearance today had completely destroyed the last bit of pretending between them.
She looked at Rhett's cold, distant side profile, like nothing in the world could stir any emotions in him.
He was always like this.
Just sitting there, saying nothing. No one ever really knew what he was thinking.
She used to be so fascinated by his mysterious and deep personality, but now she just felt annoyed by how distant and silent he was.
In the end, she broke the silence. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
It was always like this, she was the one giving in, adjusting to Rhett's pace, while Rhett never changed anything for her.
Thinking about it now, Elise felt a sudden jolt in her chest.
She always thought Rhett was the one making compromises, and everyone around them believed he would do anything for her.
But in reality, how many times had he actually done something just for her?
Rhett's voice was cold as he glanced at her. "What do you want me to say?"
It was the exact kind of answer she expected, and Elise laughed at herself. "Don't you think Kaitlyn looked like someone just now?"
"Who do you think she looked like?" Rhett asked back lightly.
"Rhett! I'm done playing games with you. I just want to ask one thing. Are you blaming me?"
Elise's voice shook as she spoke.
"Do you believe what Kelsey said before she fell? Do you think I hired those people? Do you think I killed her?"
Her emotions suddenly spiked, and Rhett frowned. "You're overthinking it."
"Then why have you been so cold to me lately?"
"I've always been like this." Rhett looked at her and said clearly, "You didn't just meet me today."
"Yeah, you've always been like this..." Elise repeated quietly, suddenly slumping back in her seat and covering her eyes with her hand. "You've always been like this. You never changed... So what has?"
No one answered her question.
Not even Rhett.
He seemed completely unaffected by her emotions, just flipping through the documents in his hand.
They drove in silence.
The car went straight to the old house, and Elise quickly adjusted her mood.
By the time she got out of the car, she had already put her usual calm expression back on. "It's already past ten. I wonder if Odell's asleep?"
The only real connection between her and Rhett seemed to be Odell, the child.
Because of him, Elise felt like even if they weren't married yet, they were already a family. Getting the marriage certificate was just a matter of time.
Sure enough, Rhett only reacted when he heard Odell's name. He raised his hand and looked at the time. "He should be asleep by now."
"It's fine. If he's already asleep, let the nanny bring him out. He always cries and fusses at night anyway. Maybe if we play with him a bit, he'll sleep better tonight," Elise smiled.
Rhett frowned. "Let's see tomorrow."
Then he went straight upstairs.
Elise's expression darkened, and she quickly followed him. "Then let's not wake him up. Can we just go to the nursery and take a look at him?"
Their son would turn one in just a few months, but Elise and Rhett still slept in separate rooms. That's why she didn't want to waste even a second of alone time with him.