Under the Veil I Rule (Amara) novel Chapter 484

A bitter smile touched Amara’s lips. “I’ll think about it,” she said softly.

Elysia knew that not getting an immediate rejection meant Amara was wavering. She smiled. “Okay, you think it over. I’ll let you go for now.” She hadn’t expected to convince Amara in one go. A couple of days to mull it over, and she’d come around.

After hanging up, Amara felt even more conflicted. It was true that marrying Keith was the best option for her, but it was hardly the best for him. Keith hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should he be saddled with the label of a divorcé? He deserved a chance at a perfect life.

Agitated and unable to settle, Amara found herself staring out the window. On impulse, she decided to go for a walk. She grabbed a coat and headed downstairs, leaving the villa behind.

The Everly family estate was massive, with the main house flanked by two smaller buildings for staff and guests. Below, a sprawling garden was filled with a dazzling array of flowers and plants. Now, in the depths of winter, most of the blooms had withered, leaving the garden looking a bit desolate. However, a few hardy winter flowers still offered patches of color. On a whim, Amara borrowed a pair of pruning shears from a gardener and began trimming the plants.

She rarely did manual labor, but the task wasn’t too strenuous, and after a few minutes, she found it surprisingly enjoyable. Pruning was a skill, however. She managed the simple cuts well enough, but soon found herself at a loss. The gardener had wandered off to another task, and with no one to ask for help, Amara pulled out her phone to look up gardening tips.

“What are you doing?”

A calm voice sounded from above her. Amara looked up to see Finnian standing there, looking down at her. It was only a little after four in the afternoon. Why was he home so early? Stranger still, Finnian owned his own apartment but had been spending most of his time at the family estate lately, almost as if he’d moved back in. Amara had a sinking feeling it had something to do with her, a thought she tried her best to ignore.

“Is that so?” Finnian crouched down, his face now very close to hers. “Then why are you looking up how to prune flowers?”

Her eyes followed his gaze to her phone, where the search page was still open. Her face flushed. “I was just… browsing,” she mumbled.

In Finnian’s memory, Amara had always been rather serious and composed. This display of stubbornness was new, and he found it utterly charming. He had an almost overwhelming urge to reach out, stroke her hair, maybe even pinch her cheek, but he restrained himself.