The Billionaire's Secret Quartet

Lydia, seeing Alaric shake his head, decided not to get up to answer the door.

The doorbell rang for a while and then stopped.

Just as Lydia was about to breathe a sigh of relief, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket.

Checking the caller ID, she saw it was Thalassa calling and quickly answered.

"Lydia, did you swing by Alaric's place to check up on him?" Thalassa's concerned voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, I did. Gave him a shot," Lydia replied.

"Have you left yet?" Thalassa inquired.

"No, still here," Lydia said.

"We're at his doorstep, rang the bell but got no answer," Thalassa explained.

you ringing? Hold on, I'll come open

and headed

had been a bit spooked earlier by Angelina and Georgia, instinctively fearing it might be

out, it was

saw Thalassa and Hertha standing there. She was briefly surprised but quickly stepped aside, saying,

Hertha entered, Thalassa asked, "How's

nasty flu. Not like it's the end of

jolt in his heart and

barely a whisper, too

call out louder, but then he remembered the disdainful look Hertha had given him when they fast parted, along with

back down, a look of dejection and melancholy

her? It would only deepen her disdain for him. She had made it clear; she found him repulsive, believing there could never be anything between them. With that thought, Alaric's briefly recovered energy faded, and he slumped back onto the bed, disheartened. "You've got it all wrong. Alaric genuinely almost kicked the bucket this time," Lydia explained

him, Alaric quickly lay back

did, footsteps approached closer