Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 96

Willow's presence was everywhere; the apartment radiated the warmth of a place that was truly lived in.

She dug out a fresh pair of slippers and handed them over. "Do you want to shower first, or eat?"

"Shower," Audrina replied.

Willow immediately rummaged through her closet, pulling out a brand-new set of pajamas and a fresh towel. She went into the bathroom to turn on the heat lamp and adjust the water temperature.

Taking the pajamas from her, Audrina stood at the bathroom door. "Willow."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Willow waved a hand without even looking back. "Save it. Just go shower."

When Audrina stepped out, her hair was towel-dried and still damp.

The TV was playing a soft playlist from a music app.

Willow emerged from her room with a hair dryer, patting the cushion next to her. "Come here. If you don't dry your hair, you'll have a headache tomorrow."

Audrina sat down beside her.

With one hand holding the dryer, Willow ran her other hand through Audrina's wet hair, carefully detangling the strands.

Over the hum of the warm air, Willow's voice was slightly muffled. "Did you have a fight with Zachary?"

"Yeah," Audrina admitted. "I finally ended things."

Willow didn't push for details. It was bound to happen eventually.

She shifted the angle of the dryer. As Audrina's hair was nearly dry, her gaze landed on the cut marking her neck.

Flicking off the dryer, she frowned. "Did Zachary do that to your neck?"

Audrina hummed in affirmation and gave a brief rundown of what had transpired that night.

Willow watched her retreat to the guest room, her expression complicated.

Lying in the guest bed, Audrina turned off the lamp.

Whenever a car passed by outside, the headlights would slice through the gap in the curtains, dragging illuminated lines across the wall before fading to black. It felt like all the lights tonight—blinding when they arrived, leaving absolutely nothing when they left.

She rolled onto her side, facing away from the window, and pulled the duvet up to her chin. She remembered him asking, *Are you still mad at me?*

Did her anger really matter to him that much?

Sebastian, Zachary, the Monroe family... everything was tangled into a chaotic knot in her mind.

She couldn't untangle it.

She simply squeezed her eyes shut. She refused to think about it anymore.

But she still needed to find a chance to sit down and talk properly with Waldo.