Considering all the tiny bursts of panic I experienced tonight, I should’ve been ready for Aiden’s appearance.
I’m not.
Not really.
Not at all.
I fist both sides of my dress just to have something to twist.
Jonathan saunters inside with his infuriating confidence on display as if he owns the place and everyone in it. He looks down his arrogant nose at everyone in his vicinity.
Aiden and Levi stride on either side of him like generals waltzing into a war zone. Astrid hangs onto Levi’s arm seeming more uncomfortable than I am currently feeling.
The three King men are wearing sharp black tuxedos that flatter their developed physiques. My attention bounces back to Aiden. I try to fight it, you know.
I try to look at Astrid’s beautiful dress, at Levi’s easy grin, or even at Jonathan treating everyone as peasants.
I can’t.
Something pulls at my strings and leads me straight back to Aiden.
I hate that something. I loathe it from the bottom of my defective heart.
Said defective heart flutters, and I squash it while I focus on Aiden. On the way he strides with confident ease. On his slicked, stylish hair. On the cloth that tightens around his biceps and his muscular, tall thighs.
He put on an effort tonight. He wants to be as presentable as possible — and lethally attractive. He’s using his appearance to help his manipulations.
The moment his eyes meet mine, I freeze. It’s like those grey clouds have entered the hall and will now transform into a storm, wreaking havoc in its wake.
Or perhaps, that storm is only meant for me.
I keep sucking air, but I’m not breathing properly. I’m not breathing at all.
Silver is the queen to the King’s name.
That reminder hits me like a jab to the ribs. My temper flares and all the blocking I’ve managed thus far threatens to smash to pieces.
I break eye contact with effort and face the guys. “I have to find Teal.”
Ronan protests, but I lift my dress and walk in the opposite direction.
No idea where Teal went, but if I can find her and Knox, I won’t have to face Aiden and his bitchy fiancée who must’ve come with him.
A whirlwind of bitterness grips me out of nowhere. My hands itch, and I curse myself for not bringing hand sanitiser.
The breathing shortage from earlier swings back with a vengeance. I nearly topple over from the force of it.
Air.
I need air.
Stumbling, I find a patio door open and I slip outside.
The music from the banquet dies down a little as the fresh air hits my face. Goosebumps cover my bare arms, but I don’t wrap my arms around myself. That’s for weak people.
Running away is also for the weak.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip. The wound is still fresh. I’m sure with time, I won’t run away. There will be a day when I’ll see Aiden and walk right past him without sparing him a glance.
I hope so.
I really hope so.
Pain is temporary. Pain dulls over time.
However, I doubt there’ll be a day when I think about him and don’t feel ache, but I’m sure it won’t be this sharp or damning.
You’re strong, Elsa. You’re a Steel.
As Dad used to say, ‘no one fucks with a Steel and lives to talk about it.’
Taking a deep breath, I whirl around. I’ll go back inside and pretend he doesn’t exist.
I falter, my heels catching on the floor. Aiden stands in front of me like a grim reaper.
No, not a grim reaper. A monster.
My monster.
He doesn’t make a noise as he steps outside, purposefully invading my space and my air.
But that’s what Aiden does, isn’t it? He pushes you into a corner, and soon enough, you’ll realise there’s no way out.
He’s more intimidating and handsome than anyone should be. He has his father’s arrogant nose and the aura of a God amongst humans. Or rather, a king amongst peasants.
“Did you think you could run away from me, sweetheart?”
His voice is still the same, rough, deep, and sinister. No idea why I thought his voice would change in the span of a week.
My repressed anger catches on fire and boils through my veins. Profanities fight and claw to be set free like a hurricane brewing in the distance.
However, I remain silent.
Aiden is the type of deviant who feeds on hysterics. The best way to win against him is to reverse his own tactics, disrupt his thought process, and keep him in the dark.
Due to his lack of empathy, he has a knack for reading people. He relies so much on intuition and logic; they’re his greatest assets. It’s almost impossible to shuffle his formation or make a move he didn’t already anticipate.
However, I have one advantage.
I know him so well that I’m able to look him in the eye and seal all my emotions inside.
If he’s searching for a fit of anger, he won’t be getting any.
“You disappeared on me,” he continues after a moment of silence. “I understand you’re angry, but you didn’t hear my side of the story, Elsa.”
Angry? How about waking up in the middle of the night to find myself crying and my chest squeezing painfully? How about the sense of betrayal I’ve been blocking out so I don’t break into pieces?
His side of the story? Fuck that.
Fuck him.
He has no side of the story. He kept a fucking engagement a secret while I was going berserker on the girl who had more right to him than I ever would.
The bastard reduced me to being the other woman.
It’s such a dirty, humiliating place to be, and I’ll never forgive him for that.
I lift my dress and start to pass him.
Aiden grips me by the arm. His touch would’ve set me on fire before, now it’s just… so cold.
So freezing.
So wrong.
“I said,” he enunciates as if I didn’t hear him the first time. “You didn’t hear my side of the story.”
I wiggle my arm free and surprisingly he releases me.
That’s a first.
I take two steps when his lethal, hard voice stops me in my tracks. “You made a promise, Elsa. Fucking keep it.”
“If you don’t keep your promises, why should I keep mine?” My voice is so calm, it’s kind of haunting.
I don’t turn around or face him.
He chose this. He chose to have us in a place where my back is the only thing he sees.
“I don’t give promises I don’t keep. You’re the one who does that over and over again. I told you loving me is a one-way road. I told you not to say the fucking words if you didn’t mean them.”
I throw a glance at him over my shoulder. “I meant those words. I love you, Aiden, but I also love myself enough to walk away from you.”
And then I head back inside.
The urge to cry hits me like a sudden natural disaster; hard and destructive. Still, I don’t cry. I won’t shed tears for him. I won’t be reduced to the victim he wants me to become.
Pain grips the centre of my chest. It’s deep and affects every layer of my heart.
I thought if I admitted I still love him, the pain would lessen.
I thought wrong.
Will it always be like this? Chaotic and painful? Will I have to walk counting my steps?
One day, I’ll attend one of these parties and watch Aiden waltz inside with Silver hanging off his arm as his wife.
His fucking wife.
Acute nausea coats my throat and sticks my tongue to the roof of my mouth.
I won’t survive that. I can’t.
My thoughts rob my air again. I stop near one of the food tables to catch my breath. There’s another patio to my right. Will anyone notice if I hide out there for the rest of the evening?
Movement catches in my peripheral vision.
In the corner of the patio, a man and woman are shrouded in darkness as they talk in a hushed tone. I can’t hear them due to the music and the general chatter.
There goes my plan to hide out there.
I’m about to turn around when something else catches my attention.
The man speaks so low, it’s almost threatening. The girl shrinks back against the stone railing. The dim light catches in her… green hair?
I barge outside. “Kim?”
The man — Xander — slowly pushes back but not before giving her a harsh glare. “I mean it. Don’t fucking test me.”
And then he’s back inside.
Kim’s chest rises and falls so fast, I’m afraid she’ll have some sort of a heart attack. Her pupils are dilated as if she’s coming down from a high.
I rush to her and take her hands — shaking and sweating — in mine. “What happened? Are you okay? What did he do?”
“I’m fine.” Kim fakes a smile.
She needs to stop faking smiles when she’s this horrible at them.
“Kim!” I scold. “What the hell? You look on the verge of a breakdown.”
“It’s just Xander being Xander.” She waves her hand in dismissal and fixes the hem of her dark green dress. “I missed you.”
Her arms wrap around me. Even though I don’t want her to change the subject, I don’t pull away.
Kim takes shaky breaths and I realise how much she needs this hug. She’s a loner and I’m practically the only friend she has. Except for Kir, her family aren’t the affectionate type. I always feel like she needs human touch more than anything. She’s just not so good at expressing her needs.
“I’m here for you, Kim. You know that, right?”
She nods into my neck without saying anything.
When she finally steps back, a reluctant smile is plastered on her face. “How about you? Are you okay?”
I FaceTimed with Kim and told her all about Aiden’s engagement with Silver, my father, Knox, and Teal.
Every time she tried to ask me about my feelings considering Aiden’s engagement, I shut down and ended the conversation.
I knew she’d bring it up again when we met face-to-face.
“What are you doing here?” I try to deflect.
“Dad brought me. He’s all over fundraisers.” She pauses, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t get to change the subject.”
Brilliant. Here we go.
“King doesn’t see Silver as a woman. Cross my heart and hope to die.” Kim places a hand over her breast. “I would bet Kir’s life on it and you know I’d never do that unless I was sure.”
“They’re fucking engaged, Kim. They’re getting married.”
Every day, I wake up hoping last week’s revelation is a nasty nightmare, but I’m brought back to reality all too soon. The fall hurts, you know. It’s like crashing and burning at the same time with no way out.
“It could be something arranged by their parents.” Kim taps her chin like a detective. “Jonathan King and Sebastian Queens are childhood friends and have been allies for as long as I can remember.”
“Aiden isn’t the type who could be forced into doing anything.”
“This must’ve happened way before you came along, Ellie. King is the logical type, and if he thought marrying Silver would ensure his future and his relationship with his father, he would have agreed to it.”
“Then why did he keep me in the dark about it?”
“I don’t know. He’s the only one who can answer that.” She rubs my arm. “All I know is that King isn’t interested in Silver, and honestly, I think it’s the same for her.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So now you’re an expert on how Silver feels?”
“We were all raised together, remember? Silver and I were friends once upon a time.”
“Wait. What?”
“It was before my fall from grace.” She throws up a hand dismissively. “Anyway, she’s a bitch, but I don’t think Aiden is her endgame. Silver is the type of person who hides her real favourites so no one snatches them away. When we used to play together, she’d take out all her dolls except for her favourite, Anastasia. She hid it in a place I couldn’t find. I hate her, but thinking logically, if she really loves Aiden, she wouldn’t be all territorial about him in public. She would’ve made her moves in the background.”
Kim’s words bring back what Tara told me some time ago. She said Silver isn’t interested in Aiden but does her best so everyone knows he’s hers.
Tara also mentioned rumours has it that Silver has a secret boyfriend and is camouflaging him by using Aiden as a front.
If that’s the case, then Silver runs a lot deeper than I thought. What’s her endgame exactly?
Not that I care.
It’s not Silver who matters. It’s the fact that Aiden hid his engagement to her knowing full well how much his history with her bothered the living bejesus out of me.
“I really don’t want to do this, but I can talk to her if you like?” Kim asks with a careful tone.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to.” I drag her with me by the arm. “Come on, let’s find Knox.”
“And Teal!” she squeals. “I’m super excited to meet Knox’s twin sister. I’m sure she’s as fun as him.”
Since I told Kim about Knox having a twin, she’s been dying to get to know her.
“She’s special, yes, but she’s nothing like him,” I say.
We spend a few minutes parading between the tables.
The classical music stops. Tristan Rhodes clinks a fork against his glass of champagne, commanding the entire room’s attention.
The residual chatter comes to a screeching halt.
Kim and I freeze in place. Knox joins us, stuffing his face with scones.
He offers us one, then grins when neither of us accepts. “More for me.”
“Where’s Dad?” I ask.
Knox motions ahead. Sure enough, Dad stands in the front row, but he’s not alone.
Jonathan and Aiden King are beside him.
What…?
The urge to go and stand by his side overwhelms me. I should be beside my father just like Aiden is beside his.
A sense of calm falls over me when Teal inches closer to Dad. I can feel her determination all the way from over here.
Go, Teal.
“Ladies and Gentleman.” Tristan’s voice commands the entire hall. “We are honoured to have you here. Your donations for the orphans’ association are bound to save lives and offer hope for people without any.”
He goes on to talk about the association and the number of children they’re helping. I steal a glance at Aiden, but he appears completely engrossed in the speech. His poker face is strapped in place; his demeanour screams calm.
I can do that, too. I can act as if nothing happened.
Tristan raises a toast to the money raised tonight then continues, “I would like to take this chance to thank everyone who participated in the growth of the Rhodes Conglomerate. We have enormous plans for the future. For that, we have recruited two of the best companies as potential partners.”
Tristan tips his glass in Dad and Jonathan’s direction. “Mr King, Mr Steel. May the best one win.”
Everyone raises their glasses, Dad and Jonathan included.
The look in their eyes can only mean ‘Game on’.
Aiden spins around and his cloudy eyes meet mine. He doesn’t have to search for me as if he knew exactly where I stood. Even though his expression is unreadable, I’m almost sure that his thoughts match mine.
The real war has started.
