The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 131

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Chapter 131

Chapter 131

“Baby, did you come to ask me to hit the hot springs together?” Barnaby lounged against the doorframe, his ridiculously good-looking face lit up with a wicked smirk that could make anyone’s heart skip a beat.

Hannah noticed Barnaby seemed to be in a great mood, he must’ve really hit it off with Arthur.

Wait, is he actually into Arthur?’ Hannah thought, a wave of panic rising in her chest.

She’d heard from Felicity that Arthur was straight, so if Barnaby was interested in him, that could be a disaster. Arthur had always treated her well, and she couldn’t just let Barnaby mess things up for him.

‘I need to come up with a plan, I can’t let those two stay together, Hannah thought, anxiety bubbling up inside her.

“Yeah,” Hannah nodded.

Arthur was stunned.

‘Sis, you’re really not even trying to play it cool anymore!’ Arthur thought, his mind spinning.

‘Do you even realize you’re basically asking for trouble here?’ he worried to himself.

He absolutely couldn’t let those two share a hot spring.

“You go on ahead, we’ll just head back and change into our swimsuits,” Arthur blurted out, quickly steering Barnaby back toward the room before anyone could protest.

Hannah watched as the door clicked shut again, her brows furrowing. ‘Since when did those two get so chummy?’ she wondered, her stomach tightening with unease.

‘Now I’m even more worried about Arthur,’ Hannah fretted.

The room had its own bathroom, and the hotel staff had already set out a brand-new, freshly dry-cleaned pair of swim trunks for Barnaby. He changed into them, then threw on a bathrobe to hide all his scars.

When he came out, Arthur was already in the living room, ready and waiting, also in swim trunks and a bathrobe.

He could hear Hannah and Felicity talking quietly out in the backyard. Barnaby made a beeline for the backyard, and Arthur quickly followed after him.

“Mr. Thole, how about we hit the outdoor hot spring together?” Arthur said, trying his best to sound chill.

Barnaby just shook his head. “Not a fan of sharing the tub with others.”

As he said it, his gaze lingered on Hannah.

She was by the hot spring, helping Felicity wrap her hair up in a towel so she wouldn’t catch a cold.

With her arms raised, her bathrobe rode up, leaving those long, straight legs of hers exposed to the chilly air.

Arthur followed Barnaby’s gaze and spotted Hannah. ‘Oh, come on. As a guy, I know exactly what you’re up to, you’re totally checking her out, he roasted Barnaby in his head.

While he was busy roasting Barnaby, Arthur was also trying to figure out how to keep those two from getting too close.

Just then, Arthur caught sight of Lucian, already in his swim trunks, strolling past.

Arthur casually stuck out his foot. Lucian noticed and tried to sidestep, but his foot hit a puddle and he slipped.

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Chapter 131

With a splash, Lucian tumbled headfirst into the hot spring

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“Careful!” Dorian, right behind him, reached out but missed, then dove in after him, hauling Lucian out “You good?” Dorian

asked.

Felicity jumped in shock and rushed over, crouching by the pool to help out.

With a splash, Lucian was dragged out of the water, his face flushed from all the coughing “Ugh, Arthur, are you trying to drown your own brother or what?”

The hot spring wasn’t even deep, he stood up and the water only came up to his shoulders.

“Ah, sorry, sorry, I totally didn’t see you,” Arthur said, shooting him a wink.

Lucian glanced at Barnaby and instantly caught on to Arthur’s plan. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his big bro was just using the whole ‘keep the outsiders away’ excuse to mess with him, classic two birds, one stone!

He grumbled and flopped onto the edge of the pool, making it clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

Arthur gave Barnaby an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, Mr. Thole, looks like my brother’s already taken over the pool.”

Barnaby just stared at him, speechless.

Hannah rolled her eyes. ‘Seriously, could you two be any more obvious?’

Felicity and Dorian exchanged a glance, and in the next moment, Dorian scooped Lucian up. Felicity took him from Dorian and whisked him back inside.

Arthur just stood there, at a loss for words, thinking, ‘Well, that was one way to clear the pool.

“Let me go! Where are you taking me?” Lucian protested, squirming in Felicity’s arms.

Felicity hugged him tighter. “Come here, let Mom see if you’re hurt.”

“I’m not hurt! I just want to get back in the hot spring!” Lucian whined.

Lucian struggled free from Felicity, landed on his feet, and was about to dash back to the backyard when Dorian caught up and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

“This hot spring’s a bit too deep for you. Let’s head outside, there are plenty of public pools,” Dorian said.

Lucian protested, “No! I don’t want to!”

But it didn’t matter how much he resisted, he was carried straight out.

*****

The backyard was finally quiet. Arthur thought to himself, ‘Figures, Mom and Dad totally did that on purpose.

With just the three of them left, he glanced at Hannah, thinking, Now it’s just us three.

“Hannah, Mr. Thole’s not into sharing the pool. Let’s go hit the public pools and let him have this one to himself,” Arthur suggested.

As he spoke, he slung an arm around Hannah’s shoulders and started leading her out.

Hannah was actually thinking the same thing, but hearing it from Arthur just felt a little weird.

‘Seriously? You two barely know each other and Arthur already knows what Barnaby likes?’ Hannah thought, her suspicion

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Just picturing Barnaby pulling those same flirty tricks he used on her, only this time on Arthur, made Hannah cringe hard.

Barnaby narrowed his eyes, stepped up, and grabbed Hannah’s wrist, not letting Arthur get anywhere near taking her away.

“She’s not just anyone,” he said, sounding possessive.

Arthur flashed a grin, grabbed Hannah’s other hand, and tried to pull her over to his side. “Yes, she is!”

Barnaby pulled Hannah right back to him. “No, she’s not!”

“Yes, she is!” Arthur fired back.

“No, she’s not!” Barnaby shot back.

Hannah stood there, totally deadpan, getting tugged back and forth like a human tug-of-war rope. Then, out of nowhere, a ridiculous thought popped into her head.

Wait a sec, are these two secretly dying to hit the hot spring together, but too shy to say it out loud? So now they’re trying to make me stick around and watch them?’ Hannah thought, her brain short-circuiting.

Just imagining that scene made her cringe hard, and she yanked her hands free from both of them.

“I’m out. You two enjoy your soak,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes as she turned to leave.

Barnaby just stared, at a total loss for words. ‘Did she really just leave us here like that?’ he thought.

Arthur was frozen, equally speechless. ‘Well… that was awkward,’ he thought.

Just then, Arthur’s phone buzzed, it was Felicity calling. He answered, listened for a sec, and his brows furrowed. “Okay, I’m coming,” he said.

He hung up and turned to Hannah. “Mom needs me for something. Watch out for this guy, alright?”

Then he shot Barnaby a look that said, “Don’t even think about it.”

Hannah’s brows knitted in concern. ‘Wow, Arthur really has no idea what Barnaby’s into.’

She patted his arm, half-joking, “Arthur, you’re the one who should be careful.”

‘Wait, does he actually think I’ll get myself killed just for keeping him away from Hannah?’ Arthur thought, baffled.

Arthur was still totally in the dark, so Hannah figured she’d better give him a more obvious hint.

She was about to follow Arthur out when Barnaby grabbed her arm.

“Baby, weren’t you the one begging to hit the hot spring with me?” Barnaby teased, his voice dripping with mischief.

Hannah just stared at him, totally speechless.

‘Oh, come on! You’re the one who followed me here, and now you’re flipping it like it’s all my idea?’ Hannah thought, rolling her eyes.

But since she actually had something to say to Barnaby, she decided to stick around.

Barnaby tossed aside his bathrobe and stepped into the hot spring. Hannah dropped hers too, sliding into the water from the opposite side.

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The sky hung heavy and gray, threatening snow. The difference between the freezing air and the steaming water sent clouds of mist curling up, turning everything hazy between them.

Hannah eyed Barnaby through the swirling steam and said, “From now on, keep your distance from my brother, got it?”

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