?Chapter 1477:

    Corrine blinked, taken aback. She hadn’t expected Elva to be so forward.

    “Then she clearly misjudged her target.”

    Nate flicked her earring with an idle finger. “Why do you say that?”

    “She’s offering something other men of your family would leap to ept. The position of Hopkins family head isn’t just powerful—it’s coveted. Many would’ve agreed to marry her without hesitation. But you’re not like them,” Corrine replied.

    Her words weren’t ttery; they were truth, unvarnished and sincere.

    Though she didn’t know how Nate had wed his way to the top, the fact that he’d seeded was proof enough—he had power, and he earned it on his own terms. That made Elva’s offer meaningless.

    Nate’s smile deepened, rich with amusement. “So, in your eyes, I’m that extraordinary.”

    He leaned in, capturing her lips in another kiss.

    Corrine wrinkled her nose and pushed him back with a frown. “Stop being so smug.”

    “I’m not being smug,” he said with augh. “I’m just making sure you know I’m worth noticing. I’m a goodd.”

    Corrine had no words for that. She merely sighed.

    Later that night, she found herself coaxed into Nate’s room.

    After their fervent entanglement, shey draped in his arms, spent and breathless.

    The wound on Nate’s chest had long since healed, but the scar it left behind was jagged and cruel, like an ugly centipede stitched across his skin.

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    Her fingers traced the ridged line with feather-light touches. “Does it hurt?”

    The question seemed simple, but it carried a deeper meaning.

    Nate caught her hand in his, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his voice dropped to a hoarse murmur. “Are you feeling sorry for me?”

    “Yes,” Corrine replied softly.

    Nate leaned in, his breath brushing her ear. “You’re making me want you all over again.”

    Corrine scrunched up her face.

    Without a word, she grabbed a corner of the nket and wrapped herself up like a cocoon. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

    Nate chuckled at her drama. “If you’re really going to sleep, shouldn’t you spare a little nket for me?”

    Corrine didn’t reply, but after a brief pause, she shifted just enough to offer him a corner.

    He wasted no time, slipping beneath it and drawing her back into his arms with practiced ease.

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