Nancy turned her head and found Alexander Caine standing beside her, putting on a gentlemanly façade.

She frowned slightly and handed the jade earrings in her hand to Ashley behind her. “I’ll take these.”

Alexander chuckled softly. “Nancy, I can buy them for you…”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Nancy smiled politely. “I’m not in the habit of accepting gifts without reason.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow but said nothing, sticking to her side like glue. Wherever Nancy went, he followed, leaving her at a loss for words.

“Alexander, this place is huge, with so many interesting things to see. Why are you following me everywhere?”

Alexander gave her a hurt look. “I thought, after last time, we’d become good enough friends to go shopping together.”

The last time, Alexander had indeed helped Nancy a lot with the Amelia Blake situation.

If Alexander hadn’t previously mistaken her for Vivian and done those inappropriate things, Nancy might have found it hard to turn him down.

For most people, rejecting someone in this situation would have been awkward.

Nancy thought of Rose and Andrew’s past and finally understood Rose’s struggles.

Some men could shamelessly use all sorts of excuses to make it impossible for you to refuse them!

But thanks to Rose’s lessons, Nancy felt zero guilt about rejecting him outright.

“Young Master Caine,” she said calmly, “I’m grateful for your help last time, but my husband is incredibly possessive. He doesn’t tolerate any male friends around me unless they’re blood relatives. So, I must ask you to keep a safe distance. Thank you.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow and glanced at Henry. “He’s not related to you by blood, is he?”

Nancy couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. “Henry is my brother. We may not be blood-related, but we grew up together and have lived under the same roof for over a decade. He’s family in every sense of the word!”

“Why are you even explaining this to him, sis?”

Henry, who had disliked Alexander from the start, finally spoke up.

Honestly, Henry had never seen a man who looked better than most women.

Especially those alluring, soulful eyes of Alexander’s, as if they could steal someone’s heart with just a glance. To Henry, men like Alexander were nothing short of dangerous!

The last thing he wanted was for Nancy to get too close to someone like that.

He pulled Nancy behind him protectively and glared at Alexander. “Stay away from my sister, unless you want my brother-in-law to get the wrong idea!”

Alexander, however, simply chuckled instead of getting angry. “You two siblings really know how to burn bridges. When there’s trouble, you welcome me with open arms, but when there’s none, you shut the door in my face!”

He smiled faintly, but his expression darkened almost immediately. “Henry, why didn’t you tell me to stay away when Nancy came to see Amelia Blake? All I want is to be her friend. Why do you treat me like an enemy?”

Henry froze, caught off guard. Now that he thought about it, Alexander had a point.

For a moment, guilt flickered in his eyes.

“Ha!”

Before Nancy could say anything else, Vivian suddenly appeared, grabbing Alexander’s arm.

“So this is why you’ve been so eager to divorce me—you’ve fallen for Nancy, haven’t you? Alexander, you shameless man!”