"What if I did break her hand on purpose?” I said coolly.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

“Hmph.” Hoyles snorted. “You must’ve had your reasons. Did that girl—Lilith, was it? —do something to you? Bully you?”

His voice was gruff, but under it, there was warmth. Concern.

Then he added, half-joking, half-serious, “Why don’t you just forget about this whole circus of a reality show and join my medical research team instead? You’d be far better off.”

I let out a soft sigh. He still hadn’t given up trying to recruit me. I’d turned him down more times than I could count. But somehow…...