When she returned to the Ainsworth Residence, just as expected, Nicholas Ainsworth was sitting alone on the living room sofa.
He seemed to be waiting for her, but Nora Ainsworth didn't pause after changing her shoes, heading straight for the stairs.
He didn't call out to her. 'I must be overthinking things,' Nora Ainsworth thought. When she reached the landing, she glanced back toward the living room and her eyes met Nicholas Ainsworth's.
Nora Ainsworth quickly looked away. As she reached her mother's bedroom door, she froze at the sound of something heavy hitting the door from inside.
From inside came Mr. Ainsworth's furious, hushed roar. "Joel Chaucer, don't push me! You were the one desperate to marry me back then. If it weren't for Sharon's mother dying so young, do you think you'd ever have had a chance to marry into the Ainsworth Family?"
