Chapter 36

"Sebastian, let it be," Violet murmured, her fingers trembling as they held onto his wrist. "I really believe Emilia had no ill intentions."

"I refuse to let it slide." Sebastian yanked his hand free, his expression hardening. "You always see the best in people. That's exactly why she keeps walking all over you. Trust me. I won't let her get away with it."

Violet faltered, fake worry lining her voice. "But... if Rodger hears about this, he'll be furious. He and Emilia shared three years together,,so there's still a connection between them."

Leaning in,Sebastian lowered his tone. "That won't be a problem. Rodger won't hear a thing. After her last match against him, I hired a few thugs to rough her up, but those fools took my mnoney and vanished.I haven't tracked them down yet, but once | do, Tyrone will deal with them for good."

At that, Violet's eyes glimmered with something unspoken. She realized those bastards had pulled the same trick on both of them-taking cash and disappearing.

"I'm hiring Tyrone for this. There's no way he'd take the payment and then not come through," Sebastian sneered.

"You mean Tyrone Newman? But he is involved in some shady dealings. What if he does something worse to Emilia?" Violet asked, her tone lined with fake worry.

"He won't go too far. All I'm paying him for is to scare her. If he decides to do something beyond that, it's out of my hands: Besides, Emilia loves to flirt with men. Maybe that's what she wants," Sebastian answered coldly.

There was no hint of concern in him for what Emilia might endure under Tyrone's hands.

"Get some rest here. I'll bring you good news soon." With that, Sebastian turned and strode out,brushing off Violet's feigned attempt to call him back.

The second Sebastian vanished from sight, Violet dropped the act. A wicked smile crept across her lips. Twisting men like the Mitchell brothers around her finger took hardly any effort.

Emilia, who'd been cast out by Rodger, would soon find herself crushed and humiliated, left longing for escape from her disgrace.

She would never allow another woman to steal away her man and live in peace.

...

When Rodger stepped out, he tried to call Emilia, only to find that her phone had been switched off.

He even stopped by her apartment, but she was nowhere to be found.

Every familiar spot he could think of was checked, yet she seemed to have vanished.

Annoyed and out of options, Rodger made his way back to the hospital.

When word reached him that Landon was in surgery, he decided to stop by. Maybe Landon could tell him something about Asclepius.

On his way there, fate threw him a surprise-Emilia walked out in surgical attire. If she hadn't tugged off her mask at that very moment, he never would have realized it was her.

Without thinking, Rodger stepped into her path, his tone sharp as he asked, "Emilia! Why are you here at the hospital? And what's with the surgical getup?"

"I'm helping out in the operating room today," Emilia replied directly.

Truth was, Landon had invited her to observe today's procedure. He also planned to consult her on a few complications he couldn't quite solve.

"You?" Rodger scoffed, his eyes running over her with open disdain. "Since when do you know anything about medicine? Don't tell me you're trying to pass yourself off as some medical student."

"Who says I can't learn it myself?" Emilia retorted.

Her response only made Rodger laugh harder, the sound edged with mockery. "You surely have no clue how tough medical school is. Learn it yourself? Do you think you're a prodigy or something? To me, it looks like you've lost yourself in some fantasy of playing doctor."

Deep down, Rodger's bitterness colored every word. After what he saw as betrayal, he couldn't bring himself to believe she was capable of anything in medicine.

He doubted she could even handle the basics, much less step into a surgeon's shoes. Even working as a nurse seemed out of reach to him.