After finishing his water, Timothy York picked up his scarf and gloves. Just as he was about to head upstairs, he finally stopped and turned to look at her.
Summer Thorne's gaze was still lowered, lost in thought.
"Not going upstairs? Aren't you afraid of a repeat of what just happened?"
Summer Thorne slowly raised her eyes. After meeting his gaze for a moment, she finally stood up and walked toward the staircase as well.
"Looks like I have to thank you again." Standing before him, she lowered her eyes once more and gave a helpless smile. "You always see me at my worst… It's so embarrassing."
Timothy York didn't answer and turned to go up the stairs.
Summer Thorne followed behind him up to the second-floor landing.
Her room was on the second floor. She had assumed Timothy York was staying on the second floor too, but he didn't stop, instead continuing on toward the third.
Summer Thorne then looked up and smiled at him. "Good night, Mr. York."
After saying this, she turned swiftly and made her way down the long, narrow corridor to her room.
The entire time, there was not a single sound from behind her.
...
The next morning, the group was set to go up the mountain. It was called a hunt, but in reality, it was just the young masters cordoning off a hillside, releasing some poultry, and finding an excuse to chase them on horseback—a way to have some fun in the wild.
Summer Thorne didn't get up until noon. The men had already set off on horseback, while most of the women remained at the villa.
The weather was freezing, and few of the wealthy young ladies were willing to expose their delicate faces to the biting winter wind.
However, Hazel Morgan seemed to be an exception.
She was delighted to see Summer Thorne at lunch and pulled her into a long chat. In the afternoon, she came knocking on Summer Thorne's door to ask if she knew how to ride a horse.
"I'm not great at a gallop," Summer Thorne said. "But a gentle ride is fine."
"That's perfect! I just want to go ride out in the snow," Hazel Morgan said. "The others all complain it's too cold and don't want to go out. Will you come with me?"
"What about your boyfriend?" Summer Thorne asked.
Hazel Morgan's boyfriend, Jude Eustace, wasn't interested in hunting, so he had also stayed at the villa and had lunch with them.
"He's too annoying. I'm not taking him!" Hazel Morgan said. "Just the two of us, let's go for a ride. What do you say?"
Summer Thorne agreed readily. "Okay."
The two of them changed their clothes and went downstairs to choose their horses.
Jude Eustace was a little worried and wanted to follow, but Hazel Morgan threw a fit and dragged Summer Thorne out the door with her.
As evening fell, everyone gradually returned to the villa and gathered together.
Jude Eustace had taken a nap in the afternoon. By the time he woke up, it was already dark, and Hazel Morgan was back.
He hurried over and spent some time groveling and trying to please her, finally managing to coax a laugh out of Miss Morgan.
The two of them sat together being lovey-dovey for a while before Jude Eustace suddenly remembered something. "Where's Summer Thorne? Why haven't I seen her?"
The moment the name "Summer Thorne" was mentioned, Hazel Morgan, who had just been placated, her expression soured instantly.
She sneered, "No wonder you were so eager to come over and sweet-talk me. So this is what you were waiting for, huh? You've been holding that in for a while, haven't you? You wanted to ask earlier, didn't you?"
Jude Eustace frowned. "What are you talking about? You two went out together, I was just asking in passing…"
"Just asking in passing?" Hazel Morgan shoved him away. "At lunch, you were having such a great time chatting her up. You think I'm blind? You were that forward right in front of my face, so what about behind my back? Did you get her number?"
The hall was bustling with people, and hearing the argument, quite a few of them turned to look.
Jude Eustace didn't want an audience and tried to pull Hazel Morgan upstairs.
Hazel Morgan, fuming, wrenched her arm free. "Let me remind you, that's Mason Crawford's wife! Even if Mason Crawford doesn't like her, you think you stand a chance? If you're so capable, go ahead and get involved in this mess! Go play the hero, save the Sutton Family! Isn't that what she's here for? What are you waiting for? Go on, if you've got the guts!"
"Will you ever stop?! You were the one who enthusiastically invited her! I say a few words to her and you get this jealous? If you're so scared, why did you ask her to come in the first place?"
Just like that, the two of them started arguing in front of everyone.
People around them immediately came forward to break up the fight. Jude Eustace turned and walked away, while Hazel Morgan was so angry she started crying and was persuaded to go back to her room to rest.
In the middle of the crowd, Gale Fawley looked around, frowning slightly. "Speaking of which, has anyone actually seen Mrs. Crawford?"
Renee Rowan, leaning back on the sofa, tilted her head and gave him a teasing smile. "Gale Fawley, you seem quite concerned about this Mrs. Crawford."
"Don't be ridiculous," Gale Fawley laughed. "I am the host, after all. If someone really goes missing, wouldn't I have to bear some of the responsibility?"
Renee Rowan huffed softly, then said, "She probably thought it was boring here and went home early… You men are all the same, you see a pretty face and get ideas. Those greasy looks you give, even I get scared watching!"
Gale Fawley glanced at Timothy York and smiled. "And it's not just men who get ideas when they see a pretty face, is it?"
Renee Rowan's ears flushed hot, and she grabbed a throw pillow from behind her and chucked it at him.
As the two of them bantered back and forth, Timothy York, sitting beside them, simply scrolled through emails on his phone, as if completely detached from the surrounding noise.
Before long, he finally put his phone away, glanced at the crowded hall, and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Renee Rowan, whose attention was entirely on him, asked immediately.
"I'm going back to my room to take a shower," Timothy York said. "Stay seated."
With that, he walked through the crowd and headed upstairs.
Renee Rowan watched wistfully as his figure disappeared at the top of the stairs. When she looked away, she was met with Gale Fawley's slightly teasing smile, and she couldn't resist hitting him with the pillow again.
At the third-floor corner, Hazel Morgan, who had just been persuaded to go upstairs, was standing with her good friend, Julia. They whispered something to each other, and Hazel Morgan pulled two phones out of her handbag, handing one to Julia.
When Timothy York appeared, both of them seemed to jump in surprise, and the phone fell to the floor.
Julia quickly bent down to pick up the phone, cradling it in her palm before smiling and greeting Timothy York, "Mr. York."
Timothy York gave a slight nod and, without lingering, walked straight to his room.
...
The night was deep and bewitching.
The world was vast and desolate, a cold moon hanging alone in the sky.
Summer Thorne stood at the edge of the forest. Looking up, she saw only a vast, white expanse of snow.
There was no sound but the wind. Between heaven and earth, it seemed she was the only person left.
Summer Thorne couldn't help but let out a long breath and close her eyes.
'If my luck is really this bad, maybe freezing to death here wouldn't be such a terrible thing.'
'After all, this moment, this scene… it's beautiful.'
'It's been a long time since I've seen such pure, simple beauty.'
'Mason Crawford was right about one thing. In life, sometimes, you just have to accept your fate.'
She had spent hours walking out of that Sombren Forest. Even though she was wearing knee-high riding boots, her legs were frozen from the knees down. There was no way she could cross the snowy field before her.
'I've done everything I could. In the end, I'm just an ordinary person; I can't plan for every possibility.'
'The outcome was never something I could control.'
Summer Thorne found a tree and sat down, leaning against its gnarled, coiling roots. She slowly closed her eyes.
It was so cold. Her thoughts grew hazy, and even the sound of the wind in her ears began to feel distant.
In her daze, a sound pierced the cold night and the howling wind—
Beneath the moonlight, hooves thundered. Someone galloped toward her, dismounted in one smooth motion, pulled her up from the snow, and wrapped her in his overcoat.
Mount Sombren was right behind her, but its presence was nothing compared to the deep, tranquil scent of cedar on him. It was like the Sombren Forest itself, blanketing the mountains and valleys under a layer of white snow—overwhelming, bringing on a sense of Syncope… and peace.