As dusk settled, Jason finally made it to the Quintin estate.
His flight to J City had been canceled, so he had taken a plane to H City and driven from there. Weary from the journey, he was eager to get home – but who was he so desperate to see?
Having spent the entire day in transit, Jason planned to freshen up with a shower before meeting with Old Mr. Quintin and Old Mr. Jarvis.
Passing through the back garden, he ran into Gabriel.
With a respectful nod, Jason greeted him, fatigue etched on his face, "Gabriel!"
"I heard you weren't going to make it back today, but here you are," Gabriel remarked, his ruggedly handsome features standing out against the snowy backdrop. "You must be exhausted."
Jason offered a weary smile. "You guys fought tooth and nail to gather evidence. What I did was simply go with the flow. It was hardly a struggle."
"How's Estelle doing?" he asked.
"She took a bit of a knock but is holding up. She and Jonathan came by today and just left a short while ago."
"That's reassuring with Jonathan at her side."
"Yeah," replied Gabriel. "Heading to see Old Mr. Quintin?"
"I'm going to my room first; I'll catch up with him and Old Mr. Jarvis later."
"Alright, see you in a bit!"
After parting ways with Gabriel, Jason headed upstairs to his room.
Pushing open the door, he was greeted by darkness.
The gloomy day outside and drawn curtains left everything inside to mere outlines.
Adjusting to the dimness, Jason didn't bother with the lights. He grabbed a robe from the wardrobe and made his way to the bathroom.
Two days with hardly any rest took their toll as the hot water cascaded over him, washing away the fatigue.
Donning the robe, he glanced at the clock. There was no rush to go downstairs, so he decided to rest a bit first.
She seemed upset, her brows furrowed, lips pouted, probably annoyed by the clothing wedged between them. With a few tugs, she discarded it and burrowed into his embrace once more.
Her body was feverishly hot against his freshly cooled skin, reflecting the turmoil within him.
Soft, burning, she threatened to ignite his entire being. Jason's breathing became the most pronounced sound in the silent room.
Finally, he touched her forehead, confirming she was indeed feverish.
Sophia was prone to illness, and once, delirious with fever on a cold winter's day, she had plunged into the garden's lily pond. Fortunately, he had been passing by; otherwise, that winter could have claimed her life.
Pushing aside any lingering sentiment, Jason carefully peeled her away and stood up.
Slipping back into his robe, he switched on the light and noticed the medicine on the table.
He turned back to her, his eyes narrowing, his body tensing.
He knew she was naked, but with the lights on, the visual impact was even more unsettling.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Norah took Estelle to tutor her brother. Both of them are around the same age. So why is Janice and Xavier father feel that there's an age gap for Norah and Xavier. L I know they will be together....
Norah isn't a girl, but a twenty -five year old beautiful woman that loves Xavier Fleming/Gonzalez/Hanson....
Update 3103 hasn't been received and it hold pertinent information. Please fix it for us. Thank you....
This is great! I love the updates....
Now Xavier needs to call in the reinforcement, Gabriel and Jonathan to settle this. Thank you for the updates....
May we please have updates. Thank you...
Xavier will always protect Norah he must admit this to himself and Norah. I believe after they return from this , he'll need to approach Norah 's parents and he'll get support from Jonathan and Ella....
I like how you are getting all the different love interest committed, thank you for the updates....
Hoping Manly have his own love story here, atleast a short one...
Emily has finally stood up for herself. Now with Charlie's support, her mother and sister in law will be as quiet as church mice....