---- 22 The moment the door swung open, people rushed in like a flood. Some even held phones ready to record. I recognized several faces- Isabella's friends, some pack gossips, and a few people I didn't know but who clearly had cameras ready. Seeing the clothes scattered across the floor and the man lying with his back toward them, Isabella stepped forward with theatrical outrage. "Evelyn!" she gasped, pointing at me accusingly. " I know you've grown wild living abroad, but this is home! Don't you know you need to protect your reputation?" Her voice carried just the right amount of shock and concern to sound convincing to outsiders. "If Grandfather saw you like this, he'd faint from shock!" I laughed coldly inside. Such an elaborate production. Knowing she'd failed to have me ---- killed, she wanted to destroy me socially instead. "Sister," I said carefully, "this isn't what it looks like-" "Isn't what it looks like?" Isabella's voice rose dramatically. "There are clothes everywhere! There's a man in your bed! What else could it possibly look like?" She gestured to her friends, who began whispering among themselves and taking photos. "T can't believe this," one of them said loudly. " The Winters heiress, acting like some common-" "T want to see which man dares touch our Winters Pack!" Isabella declared, reaching to pull away the bedsheets. Almost simultaneously, Sebastian turned around with fluid grace. Everyone present froze like statues, their mouths hanging open. Several phones clattered to the floor. ---- Isabella recovered first, but her triumphant expression had morphed into one of complete shock. "Sebastian?" she stammered. "How are you here? When did you return to Shadow Pack?" Sebastian sat up slowly, his expression displaying perfectly controlled displeasure as he surveyed the room full of intruders. "I'm Evelyn's fiancé," he said coolly. "If not me, then who else should it be?" He stood gracefully, not bothering to button his shirt completely. "Or are there new Shadow Pack laws forbidding engaged couples from sharing hotel rooms? Did I break some law to deserve such a spectacle in our private space?" Isabella's embarrassed smile froze on her face. She opened and closed her mouth several times, clearly scrambling for words. "Sebastian, you and Evelyn have barely met," she ---- finally managed, laughing awkwardly. "How could you... isn't there some misunderstanding?" Her voice grew increasingly desperate. "Tf I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have been so rash. You've always been such a gentleman-you wouldn't do anything to hurt Evelyn, right?" The implication was clear: Sebastian was too honorable to actually sleep with someone he barely knew. "T was just worried Evelyn might be taken advantage of by bad people," Isabella continued, her voice taking on a wheedling tone. "As long as she's safe... but it's not convenient with Sebastian here. Why don't I take everyone away and let Evelyn rest properly?" I watched her gritting her teeth while trying to appear humble and concerned. The effort it took her to maintain the act was almost amusing. Sebastian's smile was sharp as a blade. "That won't be necessary," he said with cold