"Are you sure you haven't been reading too many novels, Bella?" Lincoln asked.

I nodded. Things like that only happened in rivals-to-lovers romance books.

"No, no. I'm not crazy. Lord Baines is more self-centered than most men. He probably wasn't used to taking no for an answer, much less, from a young unmarried lady who preferred the company of another man, who wasn't even nobility. Men like him are inclined to be competitive. If my deductions are correct, he sees Imelda as a prize to be won to satisfy his ego, and the ultimate way to win a woman in this society is through marriage. And to achieve marriage, he must have Imelda's family on his side. Don't be surprised that he would come for you four next."

"That...makes sense," Lincoln said slowly. "But he misinterpreted the relationship between Miss Danbury and I."

"So there is a relationship?" Bella said excitedly.

"That's beside the point," Lincoln replied.

"You're avoiding the question."

I held Bella's arm and pulled her to a couch. "Let Lincoln be, Bella."

"Just tell me what's going on between you two."

Louis appeared in my line of vision. "Is Mr. Castilla courting you?"

"What? No, Louis. We had our first decent conversation yesterday."

"Then why did Baines misinterpret? Did he catch you two in a compromising position?" Henry asked.

I didn't dare glance in Lincoln's direction and casually shrugged. "He's a pea-brained chauvinist who thinks women exist to worship him. Of course, he's going to misinterpret."

Bella narrowed her eyes, seeing through my bluff but didn't say anything else. Lincoln stood in the corner talking with Joseph, glancing at me from time to time.

"But I don't like him. I'm not going to marry someone I don't even find decent," I continued.

"Do you find Mr. Castilla decent?" Victor asked.

My cheeks flamed involuntarily. "W-where on Earth did you-"

"Of course, she does." Bella grinned mischievously. "They've even kissed."

"It was an accident," I exclaimed.

What did I just say?

I glanced at Lincoln who was wide-eyed, staring at me with a look that said, 'I thought we agreed to keep that to ourselves.' I winced, shooting him an apologetic glance.

In unison, Imelda's brothers began to advance on Lincoln who slowly began to back out of the room.

"We had been talking about the men that had disregarded our sister's honour, not knowing one such man was in this room," Harry said.

I ran between Lincoln and the wall of angry brothers. The glower they sent me made me shiver. I blew out a shaky breath and stood my ground.

Picking up the nearest item which happened to be one of Bella's novels, I brandished it like a sword and poked it in their direction. "Step away from him. It was an accident. He wasn't trying to besmirch my honour or anything like that."

"Uh...Immy," Louis said.

"What?"

His eyes glanced at the book and then at me. I pulled the book back to look at it. My eyes widened and I threw the book over my shoulder. The picture on the cover was enough to make some of my whorish friends blush.

We all stood in silence for a few seconds until Joseph cleared his throat awkwardly. "I shall take my leave now."

I let out a sigh of relief as everyone relaxed to wish him goodbye. I discreetly signalled for Lincoln to go up the stairs, even pushing him when he didn't take the hint at first. By the time Imelda's brothers turned around, Lincoln was out of sight.

"Where is that scoundrel?" Henry asked, looking around.

"Lincoln seemed a little tired so I told him to go up to rest." When Henry turned in the direction of the stairs, I tugged on his arm to pull him back. "Henry, it's a little rude to go into the living quarters of a person without being invited."

"You're hiding him. This is unbelievable," Henry said.

I stomped my foot in frustration. "Stop it. The poor man shouldn't suffer for something that isn't his fault."

Louis slowly circled me. "I've never seen you defend someone so fiercely, Immy."

"He's the only man, besides you guys, who's a little nice to me without ulterior motives."

Their faces softened immediately and they engulfed me in a group hug.

"It's alright, Immy. We'll stop being jerks now," Harry said.

I sniffed, tearing up a little. "You better."

When they pulled back, Henry leaned down to my height just as he had that morning. "You still haven't decided whose house you're staying at."

My decision had already been made. "I want to stay with Harry. I like kids."

Henry blinked like he couldn't believe what he had heard. "Huh. I was almost certain she was going to pick me. I guess it's alright. The little darlings win."

"I think we've intruded on Miss Castilla's home for too long." Harry turned to Bella. "Thank you for being a friend to our sister, Miss."

"And for the lovely meal earlier," Louis imputed.

Bella waved her hand in the air with a happy rose tint on her cheeks. "The pleasure is mine. I love hosting whenever I can. Feel free to drop by."

After a quick final snack due to Bella's insistence, Imelda's brothers filed out of the house one after the other. As soon as the last one disappeared, I raised my borrowed gown and darted up the stairs.

"Where are you going, Immy?" Harry yelled after me.

"I'll be down in a minute," I replied. "Don't follow me."

I glanced at Bella's room. Through the open door, I could see that it was empty. I turned to my left and stared at the other door that although, was the same size as Bella's, seemed foreboding and sacred.

Lincoln's room.

I took a deep breath and knocked. Again and again for five minutes.

Eventually, I creaked open the door.

"Lincoln, Lincoln," I whispered. I heard a soft rustle and turned to the bed.

There he lay in a scattered pile of papers with a lit candle minutes away from burning him and his bed. Moving closer, I could hear the little puffs of air coming out of his slightly parted mouth. I didn't need to brush his unruly mop of hair out of his eyes to tell he was asleep.

Looks like someone tried to get work done and fell asleep.

Momentarily forgetting that Imelda's brothers were waiting for me, I got to work clearing the papers to a corner of the bed, trying hard not to mix up the piles. Afterward, I moved the candle to a reading table before returning to gently take off his shoes.

I looked up at his sleeping peaceful face. My hand reached up to his hair and gently brushed it out of his face. Suddenly, his arm grabbed mine, causing me to stumble closer to him. I stared at the five inches of space between us in panic.

Don't slip on the sheets. Don't slip on the sheets.

My free hand slipped and I fell, stopping right before I bumped heads with Lincoln. In the process of trying to move away without waking him up, my hair loosened from its bun and fell to the left side of my neck and onto the side of Lincoln's face. I stilled, trying not to worsen the situation.

Maybe he would let go of me himself.

After a few silent seconds, Lincoln frowned in his sleep. He turned his head, trying to brush off my hair ends that were touching his face.

Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Please don't w-

Lincoln's eyes opened slowly. I offered him an awkward smile, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. He blinked at me in confusion, then his eyes comically widened.

"What are you doing here, Miss Danbury?" he whispered.

"I'm kinda stuck here." My gaze strayed to my hand. "If you would be so kind to-"

I trailed off when I noticed Lincoln staring intensely at me. I tilted my head, wondering if his eyes would follow the motion. They didn't.

"Lincoln, my hand," I said.

He jolted, remembering where he was. "Right." He threw my hand. "I apologise, Miss Danbury."

I sat up at the end of the bed, rubbing my wrist, sad at the loss of warmth for some reason. "It's alright. You were asleep."

He made a sound of agreement as he sat up. "But might I ask what you were doing in my room?"

My traitorous cheeks tinted. "I just wanted to thank you f-for...for..."

I could speak no further. It had always hurt to admit my anxiety attacks out loud and much less, to a stranger.

"Your earlier moment of weakness?"

"I was not weak," I snapped but recoiled when he gave me an unimpressed look. "I mean, it was a period of emotional distress but not weakness. Never call it that again. I've had enough of that already."

"Is it a medical condition?" he asked.

"Psychological. Anxiety problems." I watched his face turn slightly concerned so I hurriedly added. "It's nothing serious though. I've been with it for more than half my life."

"Do you need to see a doctor?"

I smiled. "There's not much a doctor can do for me, Lincoln. But I do need my medicine which is unfortunately stuck in the 21st century."

He opened his mouth to speak then stopped and shook his head.

"What?" I asked.

"I have an offer...First, could you lean back, Miss Danbury?"

I looked down. During our time talking, I had subconsciously leaned closer to him. The space between our faces was around the same length as when he had pulled my arm.

"Sorry, Lincoln. Go on."

"During your period of emotional distress, you embraced me. Bella said you calmed significantly after that. So I was wondering if you wished and didn't consider it inappropriate, as long as we remain unmarried and you need help with your-"

"Are you volunteering to be my emotional support object?" I asked, enthusiastically.

"-health, I could...What? What did you say?"

I sighed. "My emotional support object? It's ideally supposed to be an object that calms me down when I am experiencing my attacks but this isn't my world. Imelda isn't me. For some reason, you're the only person that was able to completely calm me down. So are you volunteering to calm me down as long as we both are available?"

Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose. "Andrea, you talk too much but yes, you are right. That was my intention."

When I heard my real name from Lincoln, I began to stare intensely at my gown, trying to prevent him from seeing how much it pleased me that he differentiated Imelda and me in his head. The moment we were having made me feel vulnerable in some ways, so it felt nice to know that he was offering his help to me and not Imelda.

"Miss Danbury. Please grace me with your short-lived attention. I would be so honoured."

I stood up abruptly. "I'll be going now. The brothers await."

"Now...I mean..."

"Goodbye, Mr. Castilla."

I had almost reached the door when I remembered something.

A very important thing.

Lincoln didn't have time to process anything due to the speed I used to jump in his arms. He had no other option but to catch and spin me properly into his embrace. I snuggled into his neck which was devoid of a smell, enjoying the feeling of his right arm secured around my back.

I heard the door open, threatening to break through my bubble of peace.

"Imelda, are you here? Your brothers are...oh, sorry, sorry, carry on."

The door clicked shut.

"Do you realize what you've done? My sister would be more than convinced that there is something beyond the platonic between us," Lincoln whispered against my hair, yet his hand squeezed me tighter.

"I could care less." I pulled back a little to look at him. "But I do have to get going now."

He let go of me slowly. "Of course."

I trudged hesitantly to the door.

Was I getting clingy or something? Especially to someone I just met? And what was this feeling in my chest?

"Andrea," Lincoln called out. I paused but didn't turn around for fear that I would jump back into his arms.

"Stay safe. Go around with company or at the very least, a sharp object under your gown. I don't want you getting into-"

"Do you want me to stay here with you, Lincoln?" I asked him.

There was a pregnant pause in the room and I began to dread the answer I would receive.

What if he said yes? Would I be able to walk out the door? What am I saying? 

Of course, I would.

"No, Miss Danbury," Lincoln finally replied. "I would rather you go home."

"I thought as much."

As I walked down the stairs, I could feel my feet get heavier. I clutched my chest, wondering why it was constricting yet not unpleasantly. I had to stop myself from looking back at Lincoln's open door every two seconds.

I stepped into the Castilla front room, deep in thought.

"There's our love blind sister," Louis said.

I froze and looked up in panic, suddenly remembering what the four glowering mammoths in the Castilla living room could do to the one upstairs. I instinctively backed towards the stairs.

I opened my mouth to offer an apology but what came out instead was surprising, even to me. "If you hurt him, I'll light you all on fire."