Chapter 1023

Hazel followed Frederick back to her own small apartment. It wasn’t until she stepped inside that she realized something was off—this was *her* home, yet somehow it felt like *she* was the one trailing behind Frederick, who moved through the space with an ease that suggested he knew it better than she did. And then, without hesitation, he headed straight for the kitchen. She watched as he deftly took the apron hanging on the wall and tied it around his waist. His fingers were long and elegant, the way they swiftly looped the strings into a bow almost mesmerizing. The apron’s ties cinched snugly at his waist, accentuating the perfect V-shape of his broad shoulders and narrow hips. Leaning against the kitchen doorway, Hazel observed him as he worked. The sharp, sculpted lines of his profile softened slightly under the natural light streaming through the window, making him look less like a man and more like a celestial being who had somehow wandered into the mortal world—utterly captivati