Chapter 157: Torn Between Loyalty

Her expression dimmed. Even though the outside world wasn't optimistic about Wyatt's marriage, at the very least, he knew how to put on a good front. Compared to that, she’d been running around all day, yet Paul hadn’t even shown his face. She knew there was no love in this arrangement, but being treated like this still stung.

As she returned from the bathroom with Wyatt, a maid rushed over, her voice urgent the moment she spotted Yunice. “Ms. Saunders! I finally found your…”

Yunice recognized her—she was the one in charge of caring for Moss at Paul’s residence. “Is something wrong?” Yunice asked.

The maid glanced nervously at Wyatt, gave him a quick bow, then tugged Yunice aside. Whatever she whispered, it nearly brought her to tears.

Yunice’s face visibly tightened with anxiety. She glanced at the time; dinner was about to begin. The maid sniffled and said in a trembling voice, “Ms. Saunders, we’re out of time.”

Wyatt eyed the maid coldly before stepping forward. “What’s going on?”

Yunice didn’t hide it from him. “Moss suddenly fell seriously ill. It’s too late to get him to a vet.”

Wyatt caught the implication and frowned. “You want to go?”

“I don’t suppose…” Yunice said hesitantly, “you have a way to delay the dinner for a bit?”

If the dinner began and everyone was present except for her, the gossip would be merciless. She knew this would make things hard for Wyatt, but Moss’s condition was urgent. Birds were delicate creatures—any delay could mean death. Moss was the one she’d raised from the start…

Wyatt’s voice was cold. “Are you really this naive, or are you pretending?”

Dragging her away right before dinner to save a bird—this had clearly been planned. Yunice’s face flushed with embarrassment. She was torn, both by her worry for Moss and the impossible choice between Moss and Wyatt.

Each second that ticked by felt heavier than the last. In the end, she couldn’t betray her feelings. Her voice was low but firm. “I’m sorry! I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences.”

With that, she lifted her skirt and took off running toward Maplecrest Manor. She didn’t want Moss to die; she didn’t want to let Wyatt down either… Dragging the maid along, Yunice burst into Maplecrest Manor and immediately saw Moss lying motionless in the pet room. His head was tilted to one side, eyes wide open but clouded and dim with the shadow of death. There was a faint secretion at the edge of his beak. His enormous wings were splayed out, completely still and lifeless.

Chapter 157: Torn Between Loyalty (Continued)

The maid had dealt with Yunice before, but never like this—never with this intensity. She flinched. “No, it wasn’t me…”

“You’re the one in charge of feeding Moss,” Yunice snapped. “You think you’re off the hook if something goes wrong with his diet?”

The maid trembled.

Yunice’s voice dropped into an icy tone. “You still have a chance to fix this. Do everything you can to stall Paul; buy me time.”

“Stall…” The maid’s mind had long since stopped working. “How?”

Yunice whispered instructions in her ear. The maid nodded and darted off.

With the backup plan in place, Yunice headed straight into the pet room. She pressed down on Moss’s crop. Moss twitched and vomited up some food. Yunice caught a sharp, chemical stench—something like disinfectant. Her eyes shot to the bottle of sanitizer kept in the room for daily use. Moss was mischievous: he could open caps, so accidental ingestion was possible—but this wasn’t an accident. This had been done on purpose.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Linda saw that Wyatt was the only one sitting on the couch, his face like stone. She smiled and instructed the staff nearby, “Start preparing the meal. Go invite Mr. Jackson—tell him everyone’s here.” Then she walked over to Taylor with a pleasant smile. “Ms. Taylor, would you mind fetching Paul?”

Taylor frowned slightly. She didn’t like the task, but she knew Linda was handing her an opportunity. She had something to say to Paul anyway. After Taylor left, the others began taking their seats one by one.

Elianna, having just finished helping out, noticed the empty seat beside Wyatt. Only then did she dare approach. “Wyatt, it’s time to sit down.”

Wyant sat there silently, his face still cold. Elianna glanced at the empty space next to him. “Where’s Mrs. Cooper?”

And then, as if realizing something, she frowned. “Wyatt, you spoil her way too much. It’s bad enough she won’t help out—now she’s just running off and leaving you behind!”