Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 27

Ryder, with his stern face, seemed to ignore everyone else, only addressing Agnes, "Come with me."

Agnes nodded, gave a quick greeting briefly, and under everyone's gaze, followed Ryder to the balcony.

The balcony was relatively quiet. A glass door completely isolated the hustle and bustle inside.

Ryder broke the silence, "Where did you sneak off to? I've been looking for you."

She had just.....

Agnes's face began to heat up, thankfully concealed by the night.

Agnes fibbed, "After you left, I heard footsteps in the hall. Thought someone was heading my way, so I took off to the backyard for a bit. Got lost, didn't expect it to be such a maze."

Agnes laughed nervously, "The Whitfield's backyard is seriously massive."

Ryder squinted, his gaze falling on Agnes's dress.

Agnes was obviously lying because he knew his mother had planted some wild cherry trees in the backyard a few days ago. There were too many people today, so the backyard entrance was closed today to prevent any damage.

Ryder, although clueless about why Agnes was lying, didn’t expose her, just asking, "Is your hand alright?"

Agnes glanced at her hand, where she had scratched it when climbing over the wall, and laughed it off, "Just a scratch. It’s okay."

Ryder nodded, then asked, "Preston and Beatrice are here today. You could have come in through the front door. Why did you climb over the wall?"

Agnes felt a bit awkward, "Well..... I had some stuff to deal with."

It wasn't that Agnes didn't want to tell him. She just didn't know how to say to him.

Ryder said, "If it's hard to say, just forget about it."