Right Person, Wrong Time

Nicole raised her head and glanced over upon hearing the sound of footsteps by the stairway. Once she saw that Wendy had already changed into comfortable clothing and was heading downstairs, she sent her a smile and ushered her over. "Come, Wendy. Sit next to me."

Wendy wrapped her arms around herself and jogged toward Nicole. She had her head lowered the entire time as she greeted, "Hello, Nicole."

A faint smile appeared on Nicole's lips. She served some food on Wendy's plate, saying gently, "Your brother said that this is your favorite, and we had the chef prepare it just for you. Have a taste."

A flicker of emotion flitted past Wendy's face as she lowered her head and looked at the food on her plate before starting to take small tentative bites. During her time at Jerry's base, all she ate was some bread and milk that was just enough to fill her stomach. Now that she had a bite of something warm again, she suddenly felt tears brimming her eyes.

Wendy's eyes immediately turned red-rimmed, and she sniffled, feeling a lump clogging her throat.

She lowered her eyes and picked up a piece of meat with her fork before shoving it into her mouth. "It's yummy."

Colton let out a tiny chuckle after catching sight of her reaction, thinking that the entire ordeal hadn't truly doused the spark in her eyes.

After a few bites of such a warm meal, Wendy slowly raised her head to look at Beryl and Dominic. After a while, she bit her lip and said, "Beryl, Dominic, thank you for saving me. Although I know that you only came upon my brother's request, I'm still thankful."

Beryl chuckled and waved her words off, saying, "You don't need to thank us. I've seen you grow up to be the woman you are today. I would have shown up even without Colton's request."

Dominic nodded profusely, clearly agreeing with his words.

Wendy happily finished the rest of her dinner, and it seemed that she wasn't the least bit affected at all. She was completely different from when she had just been rescued, and it was as if she had already put everything behind her.

After Wendy finished her meal and headed upstairs under Nicole's company, Beryl spoke up dubiously, "I thought this little brat was terrified, but looking at her now… I have to say that not only was she not afraid, but she also bounced back rather quickly."

Colton's furrowed brows eased slightly, and he said indifferently, "She's just putting up a mask because she doesn't want any of you to see her so vulnerable."

Of course, he knew just what kind of person his sister was. After she had lived in an ivory tower free from any harm, this sudden turn of events would most likely cause her to mature quite a bit. Still, it was fortunate that nothing else happened to her during her kidnapping.

"Oh, so the princess has finally grown up after all."

Colton lowered his head and glanced at his phone. On the screen was a message from Benjamin, asking how Wendy was doing.

Colton lightly tapped on the screen, his fingers swiftly typing out a reply. 'She's fine, and she's already back with me. We'll head back together after resting for a few days.'