Chapter 570

Evelyn Carter had just burrowed under the covers, drowsiness pulling at her eyelids, when Alexander Hamilton's voice yanked her back to consciousness.

She yanked the quilt over her head with a frustrated groan.

"Dr. Carter, it's minus five degrees tonight," Alexander's muffled voice carried through the door, tinged with pitiful exaggeration. "I'm freezing to death."

Evelyn kept her eyes shut, playing dead.

"I caught a cold," he added.

She threw off the blankets and stormed barefoot to the door. "Alexander Hamilton, do you think I'm some pushover?"

Silence.

Then, rapid-fire contrition: "My bad. But seriously, it's freezing."

Evelyn exhaled sharply, turned to yank a spare blanket from the closet, and flung it through a barely cracked door.

Slam.

Back in bed, sleep had fled.

Dawn arrived with insistent pounding.

From next door.

Evelyn buried her face in the pillow.

The knocking escalated, now accompanied by shouting.

She threw on a robe and marched out.

In the living room, Alexander sat up from the couch, hair disheveled.

Their eyes locked.

"Comfy?" Evelyn's gaze flicked to the blanket draped over him.

He rubbed his temples. "Your couch is a torture device."

The banging continued.

"Auntie Wu?"

"Gave her the weekend off."

Alexander was already moving. "I'll handle it."

The door swung open to reveal Vincent Wilson mid-knock, eyes bulging at Alexander's disheveled state. Beside him, Nathan York's jaw dropped.

"You two—" Alexander's expression darkened.

Vincent's gaze darted between them before lighting up with realization. "Ohhh, so you and—"

Nathan clapped a hand over his mouth. "Morning, Alex! Morning, Mrs. Hamilton!"

A vein throbbed at Alexander's temple. "Why the hell are you here at dawn?"

Vincent wriggled free. "Left my phone here!"

"That's it?" Alexander's voice dropped dangerously.

"It's got all my contacts—"

Nathan snorted. "Translation: his little black book of 'sisters.'"

"You wouldn't understand!" Vincent bristled. "The Wilson bloodline rests on my shoulders!"

Alexander's smile was glacial. "Get your damn phone. Then vanish."

Evelyn watched the circus unfold, her headache intensifying by the second.