Chapter 26

• Rosalina's POV
• ​I stare at the man standing in the doorway, my mind momentarily blanking out as the breath catches in my throat. I completely and utterly hadn't expected to run into Vesper here, of all places. The sterile, quiet sanctuary of my grandmother’s nursing home is the absolute last place I thought his imposing shadow would fall today.
• ​He isn't dressed in the stiff, razor-sharp corporate suit from the banquet or the tailored shirt from the tea room. Beneath a long, dark gray wool overcoat, he wears a simple, light-gray knitted shirt. The fabric is soft, the collar casually undone to reveal the stark, elegant lines of his collarbones. Below that, the thin, high-quality material clings subtly to his chest, making the faint outline of defined abs just visible as he moves. The relaxed attire lends Vesper an air of effortless, almost reckless charm—a dangerous contrast to the cold, untouchable patriarch I am used to dealing with.