The Bond Between Us ( Anastasia and Herman) novel Chapter 1041

Anastasia caught on fast.

Rowan was risking his own neck just to drag Autumn down with him.

His words were all the proof anyone needed. Whatever he said, that became the story. If he pointed the finger at Autumn as the one pulling strings, the police would have to dig deeper—and once they did, Autumn would never get clear of it.

Because, honestly, Autumn really was the one behind it all.

Anastasia poked at her food, appetite gone. “Herman, can I see Rowan now?”

“Better not,” Herman said. “I checked with Jason too—no visitors right now. Just go about your day as usual. Let me handle the rest.”

Anastasia hesitated. She almost said something, but swallowed the words. At this point, nothing she could say would change a thing.

That idiot Rowan. She’d told him before—she didn’t need him to stick his neck out for her, and she could never repay him anyway. But he still did it, just the same.

Herman could tell what she was thinking. He gently ruffled her hair. “Babe, could you take Pattie to school today? I’ve got to head to the west gate and I’m running late.”

No matter how crazy things got, Herman was always gentle with her, even to the point of spoiling her. People on the outside were always shocked, wondering what magic Anastasia had worked on the CEO of Elysian Technologies to make him so devoted.

Anastasia nodded. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll take care of Pattie.”

Herman left first, with Nelson and the driver already waiting in the driveway.

After he was gone, Pattie finished breakfast. Anastasia called, “Grab your backpack, time for school.”

“Okay!” Pattie grabbed her bag and climbed into the car. “Mom, is something wrong at home? You and Dad seem weird today.”

“Grown-up stuff, honey. We’ll handle it. Your job is just to have a good day at school.” Anastasia tried not to show how worried she was about Rowan.

After dropping Pattie off at the school gate, Anastasia watched her disappear inside. Then she got in the car and headed off to find Jason.

Inside the school, before Pattie even made it to her classroom, a fifth-grade boy stepped in front of her.

He was a bit short for his age—barely as tall as Pattie, even though he was in fifth grade. Boys always seemed to hit their growth spurt late.

“Paradise!” he called out.

Pattie stopped, cool as ever. “What do you want?”

He shoved a piece of paper into her hand. “This is a love letter from my boss. Read it. He says to meet him after school, 5:30, in the alley out back.”

Pattie didn’t even look at the letter. She handed it right back. “Childish.”

She turned to go.

“Paradise!” the boy blocked her again. “Come on, at least read it! My boss spent all night writing that letter. If he hadn’t broken his leg climbing the fence, he’d have given it to you himself.”

With the letter rejected, the boy knew he had to report back, so he slipped out of school and took off for the hospital to see Andrew.

Andrew was about the same age as Justin, but their personalities were worlds apart.

Even as a kid, Andrew had sharp brows and striking eyes—a good-looking kid, and definitely trouble for girls when he got older.

When he heard Pattie had turned down the letter, Andrew just got more interested. “She rejected my love letter? Now that’s a girl with some backbone.”

Just then, a young girl’s voice chimed in. “Cousin, is your leg feeling any better?”

Andrew turned. “What are you doing here?”

It was Layna.

“I came to see you,” Layna said. “Does it still hurt?”

“Why don’t you try falling and see how it feels?” Andrew shot back, never one to sugarcoat things.

Layna had come with Juliana, who scolded Andrew, “Is that any way to talk to your cousin? She’s just worried about you.”

Andrew and Juliana were distant relatives, so Layna and Andrew were technically cousins.

Ignoring Layna, Andrew turned to his buddy. “Take the letter back to Paradise. She has to accept it.”