The sky began to lighten as the first light of dawn gently filtered through the glass window, illuminating Talia’s pale and haggard face. Talia sat by the window all night, only falling into a shallow sleep at dawn. Her sleep was restless, filled with fragmented dreams about Adrian Jennings, waking her up several times throughout the night. In her last dream, she saw Adrian Jennings and Lana Larsen standing hand in hand in front of her, Adrian’s eyes filled with laughter and happiness, telling her that he was getting married and asking her to remember to attend his wedding. Talia cried in her dream. She woke up with tear stains on her face. The maid knocked on the door from outside, "Miss Rhodes, are you awake? It’s time for lunch." The most update n0vels are published on novelꞁire.net Talia wiped her tears away, walked over to the door, and opened it, "Auntie, you go ahead and eat, I need to take a shower and change before coming downstairs." The maid noticed Talia’s exhausted expression and the dark circles under her eyes and hesitantly asked, "Miss Rhodes, didn’t you sleep well last night?" The maid didn’t follow social media and was unaware of Adrian Jennings’ scandal or the canceled engagement between the Jennings Family and the Rhodes Family. She just assumed that Mr. Jennings and Miss Rhodes were in a relationship; Mr. Jennings was very attentive to Miss Rhodes, specifically instructing her to take good care of Miss Rhodes. Seeing that Miss Rhodes looked unwell, she asked with concern. Talia was very tired. She only slept for five hours, and it was extremely fragmented. "I’m fine, don’t worry." The maid didn’t ask further, only said, "Then you go take a shower, I’ll keep the food warm in the pot so it doesn’t get cold." "You’re welcome, it’s what I’m supposed to do." The maid turned and went downstairs, while Talia closed the door and leaned against it, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. There were many missed calls and messages on her phone. She scrolled through them one by one, but none from Adrian Jennings. Talia hadn’t eaten anything since last night and had stayed up all night, her body now exhausted to the extreme, weak and limp, her face pale as if she had been seriously ill. She leaned against the door, her fingers numb from gripping the phone. Talia remembered that he said yesterday he’d send someone to bring her home today, so she answered the call. On the other end, Shawn Rhodes’ voice was gentle and low, full of a father’s care and concern, "Talia, how are you? Have you been eating and sleeping well?" Talia’s nose tingled, her eyelashes wet with moisture, and she replied hoarsely, "I’m fine, nothing serious." This child was obviously lying. He could tell just from her voice that she was not doing well, she surely hadn’t slept well last night, nor eaten properly, her voice was weak, she must be in quite a state. Shawn Rhodes sighed inwardly, feeling distressed, and after calming his emotions, he spoke again, "Talia, the press conference this morning has ended, we’ve officially announced the cancellation of the engagement, and I’ve sent a car to pick you up. Come home after lunch." Talia’s lips moved, wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing and just gave a weak "Okay." "Then go eat, father will hang up now." Shawn Rhodes understood his daughter was upset and needed time alone, so he quickly ended the call after conveying the message. Talia sat on the floor for quite a while before dragging her exhausted and numb body into the bathroom like a walking corpse. Downstairs, the maid called Adrian Jennings. Adrian Jennings had specifically given the maid his personal number so he could be updated about Talia as soon as possible. "Hello, Mr. Jennings, I’m Miss Rhodes’ maid. Miss Rhodes has been in a bad mood since yesterday, I’m not sure what’s happened. She didn’t eat dinner last night nor breakfast this morning. I went to wake her up just now and she looked unwell, with dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept all night." Adrian Jennings was silent for a moment, his voice hoarse, "Try to get her to eat something." "I made dishes that Miss Rhodes likes, she just said she’ll come down to eat after showering." The maid paused and then asked, "I think Miss Rhodes is in a really bad state, would you like to come over and see her?" Adrian Jennings’ lips were tense, his voice weary, "No, someone will be picking her up to take her home today." Talia came downstairs after her shower. The maid served the food at the table, "Miss Rhodes, these are all your favorites. You didn’t eat last night or this morning, you must be starving now. Please eat more." "Thank you." Talia was listless, her eyelids heavy, her head aching from severe lack of sleep. "Then I’ll let you eat first, while I go tidy up the kitchen." Talia looked at the table full of steaming delicious dishes but had no appetite. She drank two spoonfuls of soup, then checked her phone for any WeChat and text messages, still no word from Adrian Jennings. The maid had mentioned that Adrian Jennings had instructed her to take good care of her and to report any issues immediately to him. So he should already know about her current state, right? Why was there still no word from him? Has he really stopped caring entirely? Talia lowered her lashes, her eyes bitter. The Rhodes Family Villa. As soon as Talia entered the door, Jasmine rushed over, "Sister, you’re finally home! Jasmine missed you so much!" Talia forced a smile, reaching out to pat her sister’s head, "Sister’s back to be with you." "Yay!" Jasmine beamed happily. Lillian Young stood beside them, her eyes filled with concern, "Talia, how are you holding up?" Lillian Young didn’t pry further, "We’ve been cleaning your room every day since you’ve been away, you should go take a look." "Sister, I’ll go with you," Jasmine said crisply, holding Talia’s hand. "Jasmine, your sister is very tired and needs to rest. Why don’t you stay downstairs and play with mommy?" Lillian Young gently pulled Jasmine back. Jasmine pouted, her chubby little face full of discontent, "No, sister hasn’t been home for so long, I want to play with sister." Lillian Young patiently coaxed her with a soft voice, "Listen, Jasmine, sister is already home, you can see her anytime now, but let her rest first so she has the energy to play with you." The little girl paused, looking up at Talia, "Sister, why do you have dark circles under your eyes?" Talia, in a daze and weak, replied, "Didn’t sleep well." Hearing this, Jasmine understood not to cling to her sister anymore, and sensibly said, "Then you go to sleep first, and play with me when you wake up." "Good girl, Jasmine." Talia’s head throbbed, her eyes dry and sore, her entire body fatigued beyond measure. She climbed the stairs with unsteady steps.