“Harrison?”
Felicity noticed how red Harrison’s earlobes were. In all the years she’d known him, she had never seen him look quite like this.
“What was Selene yelling about on the phone?” she asked, watching him closely.
Harrison’s expression was hard to read. “She’s still upset with me,” he said, almost as if he himself couldn’t believe it.
He honestly started to wonder: Was that really Selene cursing him out just now?
“Maybe Selene’s hitting menopause,” Felicity joked, a mischievous smile on her lips. “I heard women age faster after having kids.”
After her outburst, Selene ended the call and handed her phone to the neighborhood concierge.
The poor man froze right where he stood.
Selene lifted her hand slightly–just enough for him to snatch the phone, whirl around, and scurry off like his life depended on it. He clearly didn’t want to risk another second in Selene’s line of fire.
At that moment, Selene wanted nothing more than to leave Azure Vista Villas. She turned to Daph. “Sweetheart, do you want to come with Mommy to visit my old mentor?”
“Sure!” Daph replied, bouncing in excitement.
Before heading to the Shaw estate, Selene placed a call to Adrian. Then she stopped by a florist to pick up a bouquet, followed by a trip to the Treasure Pavilion where she carefully chose the specialty stationery Professor Theodore Shaw used to love.
Arriving at the grand iron gates of the Shaw family home, she saw no sign of Adrian. Instead, a member of the household staff greeted her.
The housekeeper led Selene inside. As they passed through a side lounge, Selene caught a glimpse of a whiteboard propped against the wall, a complex math problem scrawled across it.
She was asked to wait in the hallway.
09:2
After a few minutes, the housekeeper returned, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Professor Shaw just took his medication and he’s a bit tired. Miss Thompson, would you mind waiting a little longer?”
A chill ran through Selene’s chest. It sounded an awful lot like Theodore simply didn’t want to see her.
She nodded politely. “Of course.”
The housekeeper gestured her toward the side lounge.
Selene and Daph sat and waited. Time dragged on. Selene’s attention kept drifting back to the problem on the whiteboard.
After ten minutes, unable to resist, she got up, picked up a marker, and began to
write.
For a moment, she was transported back to her student days: the lazy heat drifting in through open windows, the rustle of sycamore leaves, the distant sound of footsteps in the hallway outside her old classroom. She became completely absorbed in the puzzle–until-
A sharp male voice snapped her out of her reverie. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
She spun around, startled, to find four or five young men staring at her from the doorway.
One of them, a guy in thick–rimmed glasses, strode forward and confronted her.
the new housekeeper? You can’t just mess with our stuff!”
“Are you
He snatched the marker right out of her hand.
Selene stepped back, apologetic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was yours-”
“Knew it! New housekeeper, right? Don’t touch anything in here. If even one page of our calculations goes missing, you couldn’t afford to replace it!”
The guy with the glasses was relentless. The others tried to calm him go, just check if anything’s missing,” one said.
- n. “Let it
The group started sorting through the stacks of books and papers around the whiteboard.
Selene took Daph’s hand and led her out into the hallway to wait for Professor Shaw.
One boy picked up the whiteboard eraser, ready to wipe away Selene’s work, but
Chapter 35
suddenly froze mid–motion.
“Guys, come here! I think she actually solved the problem.”
“What did you say?”
They all crowded around, eyes wide, staring at the board for a long moment.
“No way!” someone gasped. “Did the housekeeper just solve Professor Shaw’s problem? She did! She actually solved it!”
Immediately, several of them rushed out after Selene.
“Excuse me, how did you solve that equation?”
“Are you one of Professor Shaw’s students?”
Another quickly shot that idea down. “No way. Professor Shaw hasn’t taken female students since the class of ’20. The last one dropped out to marry rich, and the whole department laughed at him for it.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down!”
The hallway fell silent. All eyes turned toward the doorway, where Professor Theodore Shaw stood, leaning heavily against the frame, his gaze fixed on Selene.
