Chapter 211: Capable of every emotion in this world ... except love.

As Karl reached downstairs—

Felix was already there, waiting.

Leaning against the wall, he looked half-asleep, his posture lazy, eyes barely open. However, the moment he heard Karl’s hurried footsteps, his eyes snapped open, alert in an instant.

"You’re sleeping here?" Karl asked, sounding genuinely surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to find him like that.

Felix gave him a long, unimpressed look.

"You have the nerve to ask that?" he said dryly. "Wasn’t it you who dragged me out here at this hour?"

He had just returned from a long business trip, exhausted from travel, and was finally resting when Karl’s call came.

Without even explaining anything, Karl had asked him to come out immediately.

And he did.

Only to find ... nothing.

Karl was nowhere in sight.

So he had been waiting since.

Karl’s expression instantly turned emotional, his eyes almost shining.

"You’re such a devoted brother," he said, nodding deeply. "I knew I could count on you."

Felix didn’t even bother responding to the praise.

Instead, he straightened slightly and got straight to the point.

"Why did you call me here?"

Karl raised his brows, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"Oh, I hadn’t seen you for a day," he said casually. "I missed you."

"Karl," Felix warned, pinching the bridge of his nose, his patience already thinning. "I’ve just gotten off a long flight. I have terrible jet lag right now. Don’t test me."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"I might not indulge you kindly."

Karl immediately understood the seriousness behind those words.

Nodding quickly, he dropped the act.

"Alright, alright," he said. "I won’t beat around the bush."

Then, pointing toward the gate, he added, "I just called you to pay the cab fare."

Felix froze.

For a second, he thought he had misheard.

Then he slowly turned his head to look at Karl, disbelief evident in his eyes.

"You called me ... for that?" he asked, his tone dangerously calm. "You couldn’t pay him yourself?"

Karl shook his head without hesitation.

"I don’t have money," he said matter-of-factly. "You forgot? Big Brother suspended my allowance."

Felix exhaled slowly, clearly restraining himself.

"Even then," he said, "you should at least have some basic savings for small expenses."

Karl scratched the side of his brow awkwardly.

"Well ... it might not exactly be a small amount."

Felix frowned.

"Not small?"

Karl nodded seriously.

"I promised him extra for waiting," he added.

Felix stared at him for a moment longer.

Then, deciding it wasn’t worth arguing, he simply turned and walked toward the cab.

Without another word, he settled the fare with the driver.

The cab soon drove away.

Only then did Felix turn back toward Karl.

"Where exactly did you take that cab from?" he asked.

"From sister-in-law’s place," Karl replied without thinking.

Felix frowned immediately.

"Sister-in-law?"

————————————

Meanwhile—

Back in Dylan’s study—

After Karl left, the room fell into a brief silence before the earlier conversation resumed.

Dylan’s expression had turned serious, his gaze deepening as it shifted toward Asher.

"Boss," Asher began carefully, "what happened at the Imperial View wasn’t just because of the Fourth Young Master."

His tone lowered slightly.

"Someone else used that opportunity to push you to the limits."

Ford nodded in agreement.

"That was what exactly that had me confused," he added. "Ordinary potions shouldn’t have affected you."

He paused, choosing his words carefully.

"They only worked because your inner essence has weakened, and whatever that vial had wasn’t something as simple as an aphrodisiac. It was something meant to aggravate your condition to no return."

Dylan didn’t look surprised.

In fact, he looked as though he had already expected it.

He knew his own body better than anyone else.

How could he not realize that someone had tried to manipulate him?

"Boss," Ford continued thoughtfully, "the lady is the only elixir for you. If that’s the case ... perhaps you should ask her to come and stay with you. This way—"

"She is not just an elixir."

Dylan’s voice cut through his words sharply.

"Stop treating her like one."

The room fell silent.

Ford immediately stopped speaking.

Asher’s expression grew serious, as though he wanted to argue —but didn’t dare to.

Still, after a moment, Ford spoke again, more carefully this time.

"I only suggested it because ... you both need each other equally."

His gaze was steady.

"As much as you need to stay close to her ... she needs the same. She just hasn’t realized it yet."

He understood exactly why Dylan reacted that way.

A single misunderstanding had already torn them apart once.

And he feared—

It could happen again.

Dylan’s expression tightened slightly.

His gaze drifted, distant ... as if pulled into memories he had never truly let go of.

"Staying close to me," he said slowly, "will be her choice this time."

A pause.

"I won’t force her."

Ford wanted to say more.

He really did.

But in the end—

He didn’t.

Because he knew.

Nothing he said would change Dylan’s mind.

A man who had been burned—

Feared the fire.

And this man had been burned not once ...

But twice.

How could he walk into the flames again without hesitation?

In the end, neither Ford nor Asher spoke further.

They simply nodded and took their leave.

Once outside the study—

Asher turned toward Ford, his expression tight with concern.

"That woman is the only way left," he said, his tone low but urgent. "If Boss waits for her to come willingly ... she might misunderstand everything again."

His jaw clenched.

"What happens then?"

Ford’s face grew equally serious.

He understood the concern.

But—

There was nothing they could do.

Placing a hand on Asher’s shoulder, he gave it a reassuring pat.

"Let’s leave it to time," he said quietly. "Nothing we do can force them together."

A brief pause.

"They’ll come together on their own ... if it’s meant to happen."

"And if not—"

He didn’t finish the sentence immediately. But when he did, his voice was calm.

"Then we accept it as fate."

Asher frowned.

He clearly didn’t like that answer.

But he didn’t argue either.

—————————

Back at Adelyn’s apartment—

Xavier stood frozen, her words echoing in his mind.

"Adelyn, how can you say that?" he asked, his frown deepening. "Our engagement was never just a family arrangement."

His voice carried emotion now.

"We had feelings for each other. I loved you—"

A pause.

"And you loved me too."

Adelyn’s lips curved faintly.

Not warmly.

Not gently.

But with something sharper beneath.

"Dr. Colsen," she said calmly, "it seems that in these past seven years ... you’ve forgotten quite a lot."

Xavier frowned, confusion creeping into his expression.

But her smile didn’t waver.

"I’m capable of every emotion in this world ..." she continued smoothly.

Then—

She paused.

Just long enough.

"Except love."

Her gaze met his.

Steady.

Unshaken.

"Surely you must remember that", she added softly, "your hospital was the one that confirmed it back then."