The heels I still carried clacked to the floor.
It was just me and Theo, alone.
I peeled my eyes from my manicured fingers.
Theo was watching me. I sucked in a breath. If I said something, I could get him fired. I was drawn to him, though. He looked at me with nothing in his crystal-clear green eyes save callousness. I picked at my blush nail polish, staring right back.
“Are you really my new guard?”
Aren’t there easier ways for him to get closer to Gemma? I wanted to ask.
Less… painful ways? For me.
The grandfather clock ticked away a full minute as I waited for him to respond. In the end, I caved.
“Are you back for me?” My words slid out as a confession.
Are you finally back?
He arched a dark, impassive brow. “What do you think?”
It wasn’t necessarily a no, but the way it was spoken made it clear it wasn’t a yes.
I’d waited years for Theo.
Five years I’d waited for a word from him, five years I’d yearned and tried to hate him, and only ended up hating myself.
In the end, this was how he came back, with more betrayal.
Down the hall paparazzi were being shuffled in by staff, getting ready for Gemma’s birthday party, one of the bigger parties this summer. It wasn’t uncommon for them to be in Crowne Hall, and I chewed my bottom lip.
Theo’s eyes narrowed on my lip right before I lunged at him, pressing my lips to his. Theo was stone beneath me, just like he’d been the night I’d kissed him, the night before he left.
He shoved me off, and I stumbled back.
Hurt ricocheted inside my ribs.
“I love when you tell me how hard you’re going to fuck me,” I yelled, eyeing the paparazzi.
Our eyes locked, the flashing of cameras reflecting in his glare, and then Theo gripped my wrist, yanking me out of their view into the ornate hall. I let him tug me down the hallway, our footsteps echoing.
The exterior of Crowne Hall was famous for its inky black shingles and castle-like spires; inside it was pearly white with gold trim. It was a darkly romantic aesthetic, black railings and white, matte walls with intricately cut molding, the occasional gilded accoutrement, and the inescapable smell of salt air.
“Grandpa will fire you when he sees the photos,” I said with a smile, masking my hurt in triumph.
I couldn’t let him know how much power he still had.
Theo drew his thumb across his lush bottom lip, dragging it out in a distracting way, before ending on an exhale.
“Spoiled little princess… you know better. House paparazzi don’t publish anything without written approval.”
Hurt welled in my chest.
Where was my Theo? Did he ever exist? This heavy-lidded, gaunt, square-jawed imposter was just like everyone else now, seeing only my scars.
His pale eyes narrowed. “You have a party to get ready for, Ms. Crowne.”
He said my name with such venom it slid inside my blood and burned; then he grabbed my arm, tugging me toward my wing.