Ronald pulled the nket off Ste''s head and yfully pinched her cheek.
Ste looked at him with a pout. "Didn''t the doctor say I should..."
"Yeah."
"Then why are you..."
Ste trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Ronald hadn''t really done anything, but the way he looked at her, like he could devour her at any moment, was enough to make her nervous.
Before, there had been this unspoken tension between them, and she had all kinds of expectations, even a sort of uncertainty about the future. But now that they were together, Ste realized just how wild Ronald could be. "What are you thinking about?" Ronald asked.
"Just thinking that you''re really bad," Ste huffed.
"Oh, but you like it," Ronald chuckled softly.
Ste was taken aback. This guy! When a gentleman started to lose his shame, he was even harder to handle. She found herself a bit at a loss with Ronald acting this way.
Just as they were about to continue their banter, Ronald''s phone buzzed. It was Idris calling.
Ronald answered with a curt, "Speak."
"He''s shown up, sir."
The mere mention of "he" made Ronald''s demeanor shift from gentle to sharply focused. He ended the call with a simple "Alright" before turning back to Ste. He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "Stay put and sleep. I''ll be back soon."
"You''re going out?" Ste asked.
"Yeah, I''ll be back in two hours."
At the moment, the way how he reassured her, like a husband informing his wife of his whereabouts made Ste feel warm inside.
With that, Ronald left.
Alone, Ste''s phone started buzzing. It was Susanna on the line.
Ste picked up. "Susie, you still have the energy to keep up with the drama?"
With so much happening in such a short time, Ste thought Susanna would''ve been overwhelmed. Hull had mentioned Susanna fainting from all the excitement, yet here she was calling from Ferrond, eager to hear about the chaos in Rortis City.
"Oh, I''m about to lose my mind over here! I need some juicy gossip to
"Let''s not talk about all those
calm my nerves," Susanna et
troubles around me. Come on, talk
about some juicy stuff, shall we?"
Alright. It was nice that Susanna could adjust her state by gossiping.
"You wouldn''t believe how terrifying Hull is. I mean, really... Let''s not talk about him, or I might faint again."
At the mere thought of Hull involving her in the drastic scene, Susanna would shiver. In brief, it was horrifying.
Steforted in a gentle tone, "Okay okay, no more talk about him then."
As learning from Ronald that Hull had brought Susanna in the intense situation with the Doyne family, Ste understood it was probably a lot scarier than the chaos at Portis City airport.
Still, Ste admired Susanna. She was capable of managing herself even after the copse out of dread, which spoke volumes for her resilience. "Hey, did you hear about L taking on the entire Larkin family? She''s quite something else," Susanna shifted the conversation. "Yeah, she''s really something," Ste agreed.
The entire Larkin family sided with Urs, while L was going head-to-head with them because of it, which was like a one-woman crusade.
Susannaughed, clearly entertained. "Man, I kind of admire her guts, what do you think the reason she pulled the stunt today? Even dragging her kid into it is.
I''m not approving of her making the scene with the baby. But with the Larkins, sometimes you have to go big or go home.
In my opinion, they''re bullies who back down when someone stands up to them. L''s really giving them a run for their money, look how the Larkins have be right now, a general turmoil."
Talking about the Larkin family
always got Susanna worked up. Even though Ste hadn''t been suffer when with them, they still got theireuppance. After she managed to extricate herself from that mess, the Larkins still were in extreme misery. It was karma at its finest.
Everything was better now. Watching L tear through the Larkin family with such ferocity, Susanna couldn''t help but feel a little triumphant.