Chapter 19 

Rowan’s brow suddenly furrowed- 

“Brother Rowan, what are you looking at?” 

Moira Ashenford tugged at his sleeve coquettisily. His shoulders moved slightly, but he didn’t respond to her. 

His gaze remained fixed on the end of the grassy path in the distance. There were two figures there–a tall, straight man who was answering a phone call, and another figure standing awkwardly at a distance, as if hesitating whether to approach. 

Tree shadows obscured her face, but Rowan still recognized that silhouette. 

Elara Finch. 

His pupils contracted slightly, and the temperature in his palm slowly rose. 

“Nothing,” he replied flatly, forcibly suppressing the spillover of his emotions. 

Elara’s perspective: 

I hadn’t expected him to turn around suddenly. In that moment, my heartbeat slowed by half a beat. 

It was a strange feeling, like when I first met Rowan. 

I rubbed my temple, barely staying calm for three seconds before Garrett Wylder hung up his phone. 

He looked at me without speaking. I could only walk over, forcing a smile: “Mr. Wylder has keen eyes. I can’t even judge situations properly–I’m clearly not suitable to be your secretary. Sorry to bother you.” 

He didn’t move, just raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze like a knife. 

“You followed me just to prove you’re not suitable?” his voice was deep and steady. 

…I always felt defenseless in front of him. Even without using any Alpha aura, his mere presence was enough to make my emotional nerves tense. 

I laughed self–deprecatingly, “Yes, I wanted to try. But I’ve already made a bad impression, and today I’ve embarrassed myself again. I thought I’d end it early so as not to put you in an awkward position.” 

He looked at me silently for a few seconds, then suddenly said: “You think I rejected you because of these things?” 

My heart skipped a beat. “What else?” 

He suddenly leaned in closer, his deep, magnetic voice brushing past my ear with contemptuous and cruel mockery: “Coming dressed like this for a job interview–if I were a man who coveted beauty, I might have accepted gladly. But if I truly sought that, I wouldn’t need to advertise it so widely.” 

My cheeks instantly turned bright red. The sweat on my body chilled in the wind, leaving me feeling ice–cold all over. 

I lowered my head to avoid his sharp eyes. “Lesson learned. I’ll go now.” 

I didn’t wait for his response and quickly left the forest. 

Third–person perspective: 

When Lilith and Clay returned, they only saw Garrett Wylder sitting alone. 

“Where’s Elara?” Lilith looked around., 

“She left early,” Garrett Wylder answered softly, expressionless. 

11.4% 

11’s on Hic Knees 

Chapter 19 

“What?” Lilith frowned, understanding something. “Mr. Wylder, she’s actually a very capable persoir-* 

“Doesn’t seem like it,” he cut her off, his tone as dismissive as brushing away dust. 

Lilith was stunned for a few seconds before realizing what had happened. 

It was over. 

She thought she understood men, but instead encountered a wolf who wasn’t seduced by appearance and couldn’t tolerate any hint of pretense. Elag had originally worn a standard outfit, but she had forced her to change into this “attention–grabbing” dress. 

“That… that was my fault. I forced her to change,” she tried to explain. 

Garrett Wylder glanced at her briefly without saying more. 

Elara’s POV: 

I returned home and immediately changed out of those clothes, throwing that shameful skirt into the washing machine. 

Sitting at my vanity, I looked at myself in the mirror and suddenly felt extremely hollow. Having extracted myself from Rowan Mercer’s world, was I truly left with nothing? 

My phone was on silent. 

When I turned it on, there was a flood of missed calls. 

At the top was Rowan Mercer. 

(11)