Chapter 227

"Caitlin Jordan, you don’t have to leave. I will," Alexander Perkins said, his gaze turning sharp and cold. He stopped Samantha Quin from packing up the easel, his arm firm as ice. Locking eyes with her impossibly stunning face for several seconds, he finally let out a low murmur, "It’s my fault. I’m sorry." Then he turned and walked away. His tall figure looked somehow... defeated. Samantha slowly lowered her arm, and the easel clattered loudly to the ground. There was a chill around her lips, but weirdly, she didn’t feel the triumph she expected. It was more like she had touched a cactus—sharp and unexpectedly painful. "Samantha, you’ll leave him one way or another. Don’t let your heart waver, not even a little. Got it?" "You can’t fall for him. He was never yours to begin with..." That quiet voice in her mind just wouldn’t stop echoing. It was late. Samantha didn’t want to go back to her room. At some point, she dozed off slumped over the desk beside her easel. A breeze picked up ou