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Chapter 0034
Violet
When I woke, evening, shadows stretched across the room. I Blinked, trying to make the teary drowsiness from my mind, surprised by how long and deeply hard slege Diver Leer night, everything felt twisted and strained, like I could barely hold myself together. And you have was, more tested than I had been in ages.
I smirked. It probably had something to do with the way I’d dealt with Lacordle
My phone chimed with notification and I laughed as I opened it. Lucas was flailing around trying to catch falling letters. He had people sweeping the streets as he started and backed orders.
Nora was nowhere to be seen, but the coverage said that a small fleet of plates had despre invitations over ever city in Darkmoon’s territory
I shook my head and closed my phone, barely stifling a laugh. Theodore had some insane ideas, but I had to give him credit for style.
I made my way to the parlor nearest to my room and poured myself a drink, letting the glass settle between my fingers. The amber liquid shimmered in the dim light, offering a brief distraction from the memories creeping up on me. All those years with Lucas–loring memories that had once filled me with warmth, now just made my chest ache with a hollow kind of pain.
Sighing, I took a slow sip and glanced down at my wrist, running my fingers over the mark of the unwanted. Alcohol could only numb the pain, but I drank anyway. Oddly enough, it was much lighter than it had been earlier. I wondered if it would completely fade even before I managed to get through the court case. My neck ached faintly where Lucas‘ mark had once been. I rubbed at it and wondered briefly is my mark on him was still there. I scoffed. It hardly mattered if it was. I hoped it was. I hope it haunted him.
I breathed out, relaxing and turning it all over in my mind. I could feel Theodore, distantly. It felt a lot like when Lucas and I had first been bonded, but there was no mark, no new scar from a bond. It didn’t make any sense. And if I was being honest, thinking about Theodore made me anxious in ways I wasn’t ready to admit.
It was probably better this way. I didn’t have to suffer until the court case and when he eventually fuond his fated mate we’d be able to break ties easily. After all, it was expected that he would choose her, even if we were just six months into our contract.
Lost in thought, I didn’t hear him come in. The absence of my glass and his voice pulled me back to reality, smooth and warm like the whiskey in my glass.
“This is a bit strong for a lady, don’t you think?” His eyes twinkled with a boyish amusement as he grinned. “Especially on the wings of such a great day? We should be drinking champagne!”
Chapter 0034
+25 BONUS
I looked up at him, stunned a bit by how young and handsome he was, how easy going he was, and how warm his presence made me. I felt his joy. Lucas…
Lucas had never felt as happy to be in my presence as Theodore felt right now. I swallowed past the tightness in my throat and took a breath
His grin turned knowing and teasing as he raised my glass to his lips, taking a slow, deliberate sip.
“If you stare too long, you might fall in love, you know?”
I scoffed at that and reached up to take my drink back. His eyes remained on me. That knowing look didn’t vanish. I felt vulnerable, exposed, as if he could read everything I was trying so hard to bury.
I forced a smile. “I like whiskey for victory… Champagne is too polte.”
He grinned. “My kind of woman.”
He poured himself a glass and joined me on the couch, topping off my glass. He lifted his glass.
“A toast?”
“To?”
“You,” he said softly. “For being… utterly captivating. Bold… Beautiful adnd fucking ruthless.”
I scoffed. “Really?”
www
“I wouldn’t mind watching you wipe the floor with that jackass, but it would have undermined the authoritative, furious vibe I was going for to spring a boner while you did so.”
I snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re… the most alluring woman I’ve ever seen.” I went still. His gaze turned soft. “I thought so even before I saw you at the bar, but that night…”
