My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 2: Flower of Evil

The cicadas chirped, just like on that summer day.

The girl’s shy eyes and sweat-dampened temples overlapped with his memory of that afternoon.

For the past three years, she had invaded his dreams every night, leaving him restless and feverish.

Caleb Rhodes rubbed his fingertips. The spot the girl had touched began to burn, and even the air around him seemed to crackle with agitation.

However, he quickly averted his gaze, his expression once again cold, stern, and dignified. "Go on in."

Nina Wynn instantly breathed a sigh of relief and fled as if she’d been granted a pardon.

Of course, she couldn’t see the predatory gaze of the man in the car, like a beast sizing up its prey.

After entering the Rhodes Family estate, Nina Wynn realized that not only was the entire Rhodes Family present, but all of Caleb Rhodes’s old friends had come as well.

That group of Princelings were all men of prominent status, with Caleb Rhodes being the most distinguished among them.

Nina Wynn had witnessed their outrageous behavior more than once, so she had to be on high alert to avoid them.

But Lana Shaw, playing the part of the lady of the house, wasn’t about to let her off the hook.

"I’m busy. Take these drinks to your younger uncle."

Nina Wynn couldn’t refuse, so she braced herself and entered the room.

Inside the room, glasses clinked amidst a scene of debauchery and excess.

Dressed in a pale blue dress, Nina Wynn stood at the door, as conspicuous as a fresh white rose mixed in with a thorny thicket.

All eyes in the room simultaneously turned toward her.

Even in the dim light, they could clearly see her dark hair and red lips. She was innately enchanting; even a single strand of her hair seemed to exude beauty.

Her fair skin, in particular, looked almost luminous against the pale blue dress, captivatingly so.

After a brief moment of stunned admiration, someone sneered.

"Third Lord Master, your little adopted girl has grown up in the few years we haven’t seen her. She looks quite tasty."

Caleb Rhodes hadn’t expected her to come in either. He furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly and swirled the red wine in his glass.

"She’s just eaten a few years of the Rhodes Family’s food. You can hardly call her an adopted daughter."

His voice was cold and detached, as if he were discussing something utterly insignificant. With casual indifference, he drew a clear line between himself and Nina Wynn.

At the same time, he cast Nina Wynn out of the Rhodes Family’s social circle.

Nina Wynn’s heart sank slightly as she gripped the tray tightly.

Caleb Rhodes, just as he always had, knew which knife would cut the deepest.

She didn’t look directly at Caleb Rhodes.

Even though he was sitting and she was standing, she felt as if he were looking down on her, her own posture humbled to the dust.

Facing their scrutinizing and disdainful gazes, she placed the drinks on the table. "Uncle, your drinks."

Caleb Rhodes’s gaze lingered for a second on her slender calves, which were as fair as lotus roots. He then narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with a hint of coldness. "Who told you to come in here? Get out!"

Everyone stared at Nina Wynn, ready to watch the drama unfold.

Nina Wynn felt as humiliated as if she had been stripped naked under the sun.

She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. After putting down the tray, she quickly retreated outside the door.

A wave of jeering followed her from behind.

"Third Lord Master, why so heartless? She’s a little beauty, after all. You don’t know how to treat a woman with a little tenderness!"

"Third Lord Master, have her join us for a couple of drinks. We don’t have any girls to drink with us anyway."

Nina Wynn’s fingertips trembled. ’So, in the eyes of Caleb Rhodes and his friends, I’m no different from a bar hostess.’

She didn’t stay to listen any longer and left quickly.

Inside, Caleb Rhodes’s hand, which was holding his wine glass, paused. A slight, unreadable smile touched his lips as he said, "If you’re looking for women, don’t go crazy in here. We can go to a bar later. They have all types there."

The man, oblivious to the danger, continued to heckle, "She’s not a member of the Rhodes Family anyway. It’s an honor for her to be able to drink with us."

"Tsk, nice legs. So fair and slender. Would probably feel amazing wrapped around your waist."

Caleb Rhodes chuckled but said nothing.

But a sliver of viciousness leaked from his ice-cold eyes.

He suddenly stood up, grabbed a wine bottle from the table, and smashed it directly over the man’s forehead.

The bottle shattered, gashing the man’s head open. Dark red wine mixed with blood, spilling all over the floor.

Everyone was stunned into silence.

After a long moment, someone finally stood up and looked on, trembling. "Third Lord Master, this..." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Caleb Rhodes tugged at his collar and spoke nonchalantly, "A waste of good wine that it couldn’t even shut his mouth. What a buzzkill."

His voice was light and casual, as if the thug from a moment ago wasn’t him at all.

"But, Third Lord Master, he came to welcome you back. How could you..."

Caleb Rhodes took a napkin and wiped his fingers one by one. His expression was placid, but the chill in his eyes sent a shiver down everyone’s spine.

"Anything on Rhodes Family territory, even a dog, is not for others to take liberties with."

His sharp, knife-like gaze swept across the man’s face. "Get lost!!"

The man was dazed from the blow. A complete mess, with blood streaming from his head, he didn’t dare to look up.

Although they were all Princelings, Caleb Rhodes was at the very top of the hierarchy. He was not someone to be trifled with.

The man didn’t even dare to wipe away the blood that was blurring his vision. He stammered, "I’m sorry, Third Lord Master. I was out of line."

Caleb Rhodes tossed the napkin aside and turned to leave the room.

He didn’t say a word, but the frigid aura emanating from him was even more terrifying than his earlier actions.

Someone helped the man up and whispered, "You should go. Use the back door, and don’t ruin his mood for the day."

Nina Wynn lay down in her small room for a while, planning to leave.

But just as she stepped out, she saw Caleb Rhodes standing at the top of the second-floor staircase, slowly making his way down.

She froze. She wanted to go back into her room, but it was too late; Caleb Rhodes had already seen her.

With one hand on the doorknob and the other clutching her bag, she was frozen, unsure whether to advance or retreat. Leaning against the door, she called out awkwardly, "Uncle."

Caleb Rhodes looked at the small whorl of hair on the crown of her head as he walked toward her, one step at a time.

She looked into Caleb Rhodes’s eyes and instinctively wanted to back away.

Those eyes were incredibly cold and desolate. The moment they landed on her, she felt humbled to the dust.

In an instant, time seemed to rewind ten years.

It was another hot and humid summer, and her aunt had brought her into the main hall of the Rhodes Family estate.

Leo Rhodes’s son and daughter pointed at her nose, calling her a little vixen, and threw all of her luggage out the door.

Her aunt’s sobs filled her ears. She helplessly clutched the hem of her dress, feeling as though the whole world had abandoned her.

Until a cool, clear voice sounded from above her.

"Zyler Rhodes, Crystal Rhodes, is this how your etiquette teacher taught you to treat a guest?"

The hall immediately fell silent.

Nina Wynn looked up, and the sight was etched into her memory for a lifetime.

In the understated luxury of the Chinese-style villa, at the top of the Rhodes Family’s spiral staircase, stood a young man. He was dressed in a white shirt and black pants, exuding a chillingly noble air, his face almost unfairly handsome.

He descended the spiral staircase with long-legged strides, seeming to merge with the light. He was as beautiful as a newly unveiled oil painting, a stunning vision that illuminated the bleakness of Nina Wynn’s youth.

Lana Shaw tugged on Nina Wynn’s clothes and whispered, "This is your younger uncle, Caleb Rhodes, Leo’s brother. Quickly, call him Uncle."

Nina Wynn kept her head down, not daring to look at him directly. Her chest was trembling violently. After a long while, she finally whispered "Uncle" in a voice as faint as a kitten’s meow.

Caleb Rhodes gave a soft "Mm," and walked past her toward the exit. "From now on, just treat this place as your own home. If you need anything, just tell the butler, Mr. Chapman."

His voice was cool and so pleasant to listen to that Nina Wynn was left in a daze for a long time.

It wasn’t until the low rumble of a Harley-Davidson engine sounded from outside that she realized Caleb Rhodes was long gone.

For a long time after that, Nina Wynn believed Caleb Rhodes was a good person. That was until the day she knelt before him, begging him like a madwoman, while he remained completely unmoved, merely looking down at her with cold, condescending eyes.

It was then that she had a rude awakening: Caleb Rhodes had never felt a shred of pity for her.

A man like Caleb Rhodes was no saint. He was a flower of evil that had blossomed from a storm of violence and bloodshed. Having witnessed countless acts of plunder, he had become adept at seizing whatever he wanted by force.

’How could I have been so foolish as to think Caleb Rhodes was a good person?’

Caleb Rhodes quickly arrived in front of her. He stared at her, his eyes dark and deep. "You moved out of the Rhodes Family home?"