My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 30: Wound

Nina Wynn jumped, and just as she was about to speak, Caleb Rhodes’s phone rang.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he withdrew his hand.

He picked up his phone. The screen displayed Rosalind Lowell’s name.

He stood up. "Go back to your room when you’re done eating."

The room Nina Wynn would be staying in was to the left of Caleb Rhodes’s bedroom. It wasn’t large, appearing to be a small, attached room with a private bathroom and a small balcony.

The furniture in the room matched that of the main house—elegant and refined, with a faint pearlescent sheen. The wooden windows were open, allowing the delicate fragrance of osmanthus to drift in.p>Nina Wynn slipped off her shoes and walked inside. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The cool, solid wood floor felt comfortable against her bare feet.

Even though she knew this was Caleb Rhodes’s territory, she couldn’t help but love the layout. It was so much like her childhood room.

After looking around the room, she stepped out onto the balcony.

It wasn’t large, but it held a tall bird-of-paradise plant that was, surprisingly, in bloom. The person who tended to it was clearly very meticulous.

Nearby stood a white table and chair set woven from soft rattan. A few magazines and a tea set rested on the tabletop.

Just as Nina Wynn was about to sit down, she felt a pair of eyes on her.

She looked up and saw Caleb Rhodes on the adjacent balcony, speaking on the phone.

He held the phone in one hand and rested the other on the railing, his intense gaze fixed on her.

Then, his gaze slowly slid down to her bare feet.

Her feet were small and pale; she likely wore a size 5 at most.

Noticing his stare, Nina Wynn instinctively tried to pull her feet back, but she was wearing a short skirt. No matter how she tried to hide them, they remained exposed to his view.

A sudden sense of shame washed over Nina Wynn. "Mr. Rhodes," she called out nervously, before fleeing back into her room.

The room was spotless and beautiful, countless times nicer than her room at the Rhodes family’s estate. The silk four-piece bedding set alone must have been worth a fortune.

But Nina Wynn was in no mood to appreciate any of it. Traces of Caleb Rhodes were everywhere, and it made her afraid.

She didn’t know exactly what she was afraid of, nor did she want to. Subconsciously, she had already classified Caleb Rhodes as a dangerous individual—even more dangerous than Crystal Rhodes.

Perhaps she had eaten too much, or perhaps it was her nerves, but after sitting in the room for just a short while, Nina Wynn’s stomach started to feel upset.

She wanted to go out for a glass of water, but she immediately dismissed the idea at the thought of having to pass Caleb Rhodes’s room.

There was a mini-fridge by the door, stocked with chilled bottles of mineral water and juice. Nina Wynn took out a water and drank a few sips, but it only made her stomach hurt more.

At first, the pain was tolerable, but it grew increasingly severe.

To make matters worse, the stomachache was centered right where Crystal Rhodes had kicked her. Now, that pain flared up along with the ache in her stomach, throbbing violently.

A moment later, a violent churning seized her stomach. Nina Wynn rushed to the bathroom and threw up everything she had just eaten.

She rinsed her mouth and gripped the edge of the sink, staring at her reflection.

’Her face was frighteningly pale, her sweaty hair was plastered to her cheeks, and dark circles ringed her eyes. I look so ugly and haggard. If Caleb Rhodes saw me like this, would he be disgusted?’

The thought had barely passed when a more intense wave of pain struck. Her vision went black, and she slid limply to the floor.

In the adjacent room, Caleb Rhodes quickly ended his call.

The moment he stepped out, he saw Warner Zimmerman knocking on Nina Wynn’s door, a large box in his hands.

"What is that?"

"Pajamas, just delivered. They were selected in Miss Wynn’s size. It’s the same style as yours."

Caleb Rhodes took the box. "I’ll give it to her. You may go."

He knocked a few times, but there was no response. Caleb Rhodes frowned, turned the handle, and the door swung open.

Nina Wynn wasn’t in the room. The bathroom door was ajar, and he could hear the sound of running water from inside.

Caleb Rhodes placed the box on the bed. As he approached the bathroom doorway, he caught sight of a small figure collapsed on the floor.

Her slight frame was curled into a ball on the floor, seemingly lifeless.

Caleb Rhodes’s heart clenched. He rushed over, scooped her up, and laid her gently on the bed.

The bed was huge, and she occupied only a tiny corner, looking all the more frail and pitiful.

"Nina Wynn!" Caleb Rhodes gently patted her cheek.

Nina Wynn was unconscious and didn’t respond.

Her small face was deathly pale, and her lips were completely colorless. Even the tiny, broken mole on her face looked listless and dull, as if it were sick.

Caleb Rhodes didn’t know why she had fainted in the bathroom. He quickly dialed a number. "Dr. Chapman, I need you to come to my residence. Hurry!"

Dr. Chapman was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who lived nearby and served as Caleb Rhodes’s semi-private physician.

While waiting for the doctor, Caleb Rhodes brought a warm towel to wipe Nina’s face.

She was covered in a cold sweat that soaked her hair and the collar of her dress.

It was the first time Caleb had seen someone perspire so profusely from a cold sweat, and his brow furrowed.

’Her constitution is too weak. This is the second time in a week she’s had a problem. She needs proper care to recover.’

He gently wiped the sweat from her face, then her neck.

As he wiped her arm, he noticed the gauze he had wrapped earlier was dirty, so he tore it off.

The spot where she had hit the cabinet door earlier that evening was now badly swollen. It was a shocking sight.

Any other girl would have been crying from the pain, but she hadn’t so much as whimpered.

Caleb Rhodes’s lips tightened, the chill in his eyes intensifying. ’Is she really that stubborn? Completely unwilling to show any weakness in front of me?’

He lifted her hand to inspect it more closely, but his eyes caught on a bandage on the back of it.

This wasn’t the same bandage from the car; she must have changed it at some point. But fresh traces of blood were still seeping from the edges.

He peeled off the bandage, revealing a small, mangled, bloody hole.

It was deep, about the size of the tip of a chopstick, and it looked as if it had nearly pierced all the way through the back of her hand. It was clearly a puncture wound from a sharp object.

It was covered in some unknown yellow medicinal powder, but that seemed to be having no effect; bloody fluid was still slowly oozing from the wound.

Caleb Rhodes’s eyes turned as cold as a winter tomb. He clenched his hand into a fist so tight the veins bulged on his skin.

His tone was sharper than ever before. "Warner Zimmerman!"

Warner Zimmerman was right outside. Hearing Caleb’s sharp voice, he immediately entered. "Young Master?"

Caleb Rhodes gripped Nina Wynn’s hand, a storm of fury raging in his eyes. His voice was as cold as if it had been dredged up from a frozen lake. "Pull up the surveillance footage from the Rhodes family estate for tonight."

Warner Zimmerman’s gaze fell on the horrific wound on Nina Wynn’s hand, and he froze for a second. "Yes, Young Master!"

In his ten years at Caleb Rhodes’s side, it was the first time Warner Zimmerman had ever seen him in such a state of violent rage.

Even during the financial crisis in Aridia, when tens of billions of US dollars were on the verge of being wiped out, the Rhodes family’s Third Lord Master had remained completely unflappable. To think that tonight, he would lose control like this over a wound on a little orphan’s hand.

At this thought, a chill ran down the spine of the eternally composed butler.