When talking aboutst night, Susanna was all flustered. She even joined in on Ste''s gossip train, forgetting the solemn vows she had made earlier. But she ensured she had the door securely locked before spilling the tea.
"Hey, let me tell you. Hull might truly not be up to it."
Ste was curious. "Oh? Do tell."
Previously, it was all conjecture about whether Hull could get it up or not when talking with Yvonne. They had no solid evidence.
But Susanna''s use of the word ''might'' and her tone suggested a higher degree of certainty.
Susanna cleared her throat twice. "So, I was rubbing his for longst night, and he didn''t react."
Ste nodded. "Well, that''s a clear sign, isn''t it?"
What a waste of such a good-looking guy.
"So, what did you do to get him so riled up today?"
If Susanna was this scared, it must have been something serious.
Wait a second. Didn''t Susanna call herst night?
She was half-asleep at the time. Susanna mentioned something about fever medicine. Did she say... to take a few more?!
Ste''s eye twitched. Before Susanna could say anything, "Hold on. How many fever pills did you give Hullst night?"
Oh no. She must have been really out of it, telling Susanna to give Hull extra fever pills. That could be lethal, couldn''t it?
Ste froze. Her brain went numb, silently praying Susanna had themon sense not to follow her advice.
Susanna mumbled, "Just one. When you said that, I figured you were half- asleep."
Ste felt an immediate wave of relief. "That''s good. That''s good."
Thank goodness. No matter how good Hull was, a few extra fever pills could have knocked him out.
Susanna huffed, "I''m not that dumb."
"So, what did you do to tick off Hull this time?"
It wasn''t the physical cooling, and it wasn''t about the meds. What else could it be?
Susanna answered, "Well, he fired the cook, you know. He wanted me to make lunch."
"You can''t cook."
Susanna couldn''t cook anything except for oatmeal, but who would eat oatmeal every meal?
Susanna pouted, "I know, but he insisted, so I thought I''d make some pasta." Ste added, "Yeah, you can do that."
Although she had messed it up, she''d seeded a few times. It shouldn''t be a big deal.
Susanna continued, "I thought so but have messed up the pasta twice today." Ste couldn''t believe her ears. What? Messed it up?
"The first time, I overcooked it."
"The second time, it turned into a gooey mess, like a pancake."
Ste said helplessly, "Uh, you are something."
"And the worst part is that I might have added salt twice."
Ste doubted "Wouldn''t that be incredibly salty?"
"No kidding. Barnaby spat it out immediately like I''d poisoned him."
Ste was dumbfounded. She remembered Barnaby, who used to want to work for Ronald. Ronald thought he was too weak and
chatty And he was working for Hull? He couldn''t even hold it together before Hull?
Barnaby was Finley''s disciple. They could be twins if they looked the same.
Ste asked, “So, did Hull get mad at you?"
Just for not being able to cook pasta? That seemed a bit much.
Susanna replied, "He wasn''t mad at me."
"Then?"
"I''m just scared. With someone capable of snapping at any moment, wouldn''t you
be worried he mightsh out in anger?"
Hearing Susanna''s reasoning, Ste was at a loss for words.
Okay, since Susanna and Hull were from different worlds, Hull''s actions seemed entirely alien to her. It made sense she''d be anxious all the time.
"Okay, I''m flying over tonight. No worries, Susie." Ste reassured her patiently.
Susanna huffed, "You better not be lying."
"I promise, no lies."
They chatted a bit more, with Ste giving all sorts of assurances that nothing unexpected would happen, and only then did Susanna hang up the phone. She was genuinely terrified. She had never witnessed anything like it since she was a child.
When Ste''s world first crumbled, she was even more frightened than Susanna
was.
Suddenly, a familiar presence enveloped her, and Ste jumped in surprise.