The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 1260

"What?" Thalassa gasped, her eyes wide with shock as she looked up at Callum.

Evelyn also wore an expression of complete surprise, her gaze fixed on Callum.

"I'm just joking. Look at how you both scared." Callum's face broke into an easygoing smile, his tone light and teasing.

Seeing Callum's relaxing chuckle and hearing his assurance that it was all in jest, Thalassa's heart finally eased.

Her shocked and astonished expression softened into a playful smile as she said, "You'd better be joking. Falling for me can only bring bad luck."

She wasn't trying to scare Callum. She was serious.

Lysander was not someone to be trifled with.

Anyone who got close to her would have Lysander to answer to, and Callum had already had two encounters with her—resulting in a broken leg and a fractured wrist.

And that was just from approaching her as a friend. If he truly fell for her, Thalassa feared for his life.

It wasn't an overreaction. There were precedents.

If Leopold hadn't loved her so dearly, he might still be alive.

A suffocating pain clenched Thalassa's heart at the thought of Leopold.

Leopold had become the untouchable wound in her soul—one that left her breathless at the slightest touch.

"You really have a dark sense of humor. I've never heard of bad luck from liking someone," Callum quipped.

"It's not humor. It's a grim fact," Thalassa replied, a warning to Callum not to jump into the fire.

"Look here, Mr. Gordon. Thalassa's already a mother of four children, only fit to romance the kids' dad. You're quite the looker, Mr. Gordon, with a great personality to boot. You should find a simple girl to marry." It was Evelyn, who had always been pushing Thalassa to settle down, now advising Callum.