Before their lips could touch, the jarring sound of the doorbell shattered the moment, snapping Thalassa out of whatever daze she had been in.

She quickly pulled back her head. What the hell was wrong with her? Why had she almost allowed Kris to kiss her?

Irritated with herself, she gritted her teeth. "I'm almost done," she muttered, continuing to dab at his wound to clear as much blood as possible.

The doorbell kept ringing incessantly, causing them both to frown.

"Who the hell is that?" Kris asked, gripping the edge of his chair in annoyance. Whoever was at the door had deprived him of his moment with Thalassa just when he thought he'd been able to get through to her heart.

Once finished tending to his wound, Thalassa gathered the bloodied cotton into a plastic bag. The bleeding had stopped, but there was still a small gap where the stitches had ripped.

"You need to get that checked at the hospital."

"I'll be" Kris started, but another round of doorbell rings cut him off.

"I'm going to check who's at the door," Thalassa said, about to leave when Kris stopped her.

"No, let me. This could be dangerous," he insisted, not liking how the person didn't even have the patience to wait.

"In case you've forgotten, Kris, I'm no longer the weak woman you used to know. I can defend myself," Thalassa ground out and immediately walked away.

Dejected, Kris followed her nonetheless, unwilling to take any chances. When they reached the door and Thalassa opened it, they were both surprised to see Alden running his hand impatiently through his hair. Luisa wasn't beside him. ""Where's Luisa? I need to speak to her."

Without waiting for permission to come in, Alden stormed past them while calling out. "Luisa! Luisa!"

"Alden, what's going on?" Thalassa asked, her brows furrowing.

Alden didn't answer as he sprinted up the stairs. Kris and Thalassa exchanged confused glances before she turned

away.

A minute later, Alden came rushing back downstairs. "She's not in her room."

"Yes, if you'd stopped to talk to me, I would've told you that," Thalassa replied sharply.

Alden ran his fingers through his hair again, looking agitated and desperate. "I'm sorry. Where is she?"

"I thought she was with you," Thalassa pointed out, starting to feel uneasy. "Luisa hasn't come home since you picked her up at the fashion house."

"No, I know she probably told you to tell me that, but she's here, right? Please, just tell her I need to explain things."

"Alden, Thalassa is telling you the truth," Kris interjected. I've been home all day, and Luisa hasn't come back."! Alden's eyes widened. "Then... where could she be?"

"I should be asking you that question, Alden," Thalassa snapped, her voice sharper than intended. "Where is

Luisa? And what do you need to explain to her? What happened?"

Alden pursed his lips. "After we left the restaurant, Luisa... she agreed to spend the night with me. But when we got to my apartment something happened... Look, I can't explain everything right now, but she thinks I've been playing her, which isn't true. She left upset, and I think she took a taxi since we were using my car. I thought she was coming home. I tried calling her, but her phone is off...or maybe she blocked me. I don't know. Damn it, I hope she's okay."

"Let me try her number," Thalassa said, rushing to the dining table to grab her phone. Alden and Kris followed, both staring anxiously as she dialed Luisa's number.

"It's not going through. Her phone is off."

"Fuck. If anything happens to her, I won't forgive myself," Alden muttered, letting out a trembling breath before he paused, fixing his eyes on Kris. "Kris, what about the men you have watching over Thalassa and Luisa? Can you call them? If they're still following her, they must know where she is." Kris tensed as Thalassa slowly turned her head toward him, her stern gaze demanding answers,

"You have men monitoring us?" she asked in disbelief.

"I did it for your protection," Kris explained calmly. "I know Morgan's been arrested, but he could still send another thug to harm you or Luisa. I didn't want to take that risk. That's why I had a few men guarding you both from a distance." Thalassa's jaw clenched. "A few? How many men, Kris?"

Kris hesitated but decided to be honest. "Five in total. Two of them guard you and Luisa wherever you go, and three watch the house at night."

"Just five in total?" Thalassa scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You had no right. If I wanted bodyguards, I would've gotten them myself."noveldrama

Now thinking back to her day, she vaguely remembered seeing a man dressed in black at the café where she had breakfast. Later, she'd noticed a similar man during lunch, but she hadn't paid much attention.

Fuming, she glared at Kris. "I won't have you monitoring my movements or what I do, so tell all five of them to stand down. I don't need them."

Feeling impatient, Alden butted in. "I'm sorry, Thalassa, but is this really the most important thing right now? We still don't know where Luisa is."

Thalassa finally stepped back, giving Kris the chance to grab his phone from the dining table. He dialed the number of the man assigned to Luisa and put the call on speaker.

"Hook, are you on duty?"

"Yes, sir," the man replied. "I haven't called it a day since Miss Mathews hasn't returned home yet."

Kris nodded. "Good. Where is she now?"

When the man rattled off the address, Thalassa immediately recognized it. "She's gone to Zeke's house."

Alden let out a breath, visibly relieved that Luisa was safe. Then his brows furrowed as he noticed the blood seeping through Kris's bandage. "What happened to you?"

Sensing Thalassa stiffen beside him, Kris quickly waved Alden off, mouthing, 'Later.

"Let me call Zeke," Thalassa said, reaching for her phone, but Alden stopped her.

"No, take me there. Don't call him. Knowing Zeke, he'll probably have a pack of his dogs lining up to chase me away if he knows I'm coming."

Thalassa's eyes narrowed. "Alden, what the hell did you do to Luisa?"