5_Dinner (2)

Aiden lay on his bed, the worn novel open in his hands, but the words on the page blurred together like distant noise. He flipped through the pages slowly, eyes scanning lines without really absorbing any of them. His brain was somewhere else entirely.

"Choices change, people change, climate change, places change and even fortunes change..... But I wish I could have someone in my life who will remain constant."

The thought lingered heavily as he kept flipping through the novel he was reading, technically reading with his eyes instead of his brain. The story might as well have been written in another language for all the attention he was giving it. His room felt smaller than usual tonight, the walls closing in with the weight of everything happening downstairs. The distant sounds of silverware and muffled laughter drifted up occasionally, reminding him that the world kept moving even when he stayed hidden.

He got pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the roaring of several cars pulling up outside. The deep rumble of engines cut through the quiet of his room like thunder. Aiden stood up from his bed, frozen for a moment like he needed to remind his brain what he was going to do. Then he walked toward the window, heart picking up speed without permission.

Peeping from a little part of his window, careful not to move the curtain too obviously, he saw several bodyguards stationed through every corner of the mansion he could see from here. They weren’t his father’s men. These were sharper, more alert, dressed in dark suits that blended into the night but still commanded attention. Seven black tinted cars were parked in a perfect line next to each other, gleaming under the mansion lights like predators at rest.

“Ohh, the Costello’s are here,” Aiden said softly as a smile gently slipped onto his face unintentionally. He hadn’t meant to smile. It just happened, creeping up on him before he could stop it. The sight sent a strange flutter through his chest—equal parts nervousness and something warmer he didn’t want to name.

*If only I could get the chance to see his face closer and not through the sanctuary of my room or far across the ballroom.*

Emily is so lucky, he thought, the words echoing with a quiet ache. His sister would be down there right now, shining under the lights, sitting across from the man everyone feared and desired. Alexander King Costello. The Ice King. The one whose name alone could shift the balance of power in any room. Aiden had only caught glimpses before, enough to know the rumors didn’t do him justice. Those deep blue eyes, the slicked back hair with those rebellious strands, the presence that made the air feel thicker.

He lingered at the window a little longer than he should have, watching the bodyguards move with military precision. One of them scanned the upper floors, and Aiden quickly pulled back, pressing himself against the wall. His pulse thrummed in his ears. The last thing he needed was to get caught spying. Mother’s words from earlier still stung: *Do not show your face. Nobody needs to know you exist.*

With a quiet sigh, Aiden went back to his bed, lay down, and covered himself with the thick blanket. The fabric felt heavy, almost protective, like it could shield him from the chaos downstairs. He picked up the novel again and continued flipping through the pages, but his mind wasn’t on the book he was reading. It was far away on a certain person.

He kept picturing Alexander stepping out of one of those tinted cars, tall, commanding, radiating that dangerous calm. What would it feel like to be in the same room as him? Not hidden in shadows at a ballroom, but close enough to see the details. The way his jaw tightened when he spoke. The subtle shift in his expression that most people probably missed. Aiden wondered if Alexander ever smiled. Truly smiled. Or if that cold reputation was a wall no one ever got past.

Downstairs, the dinner was probably unfolding perfectly. Emily laughing at the right moments, Mother playing the gracious hostess, Father trying to look in control even while sitting at the side of his own table. And Alexander… dominating the room without even trying. Aiden could almost hear the low timbre of his voice cutting through the conversation, making everyone lean in whether they wanted to or not.

The novel slipped lower in his hands as his thoughts drifted deeper. Life had taught him early that nothing stayed the same. His mother’s promise, broken by death. The warmth of a real home, replaced by this cold mansion where he was little more than a ghost. Even his own feelings seemed to shift like sand, wanting to disappear one moment, craving a single glimpse of something real the next.

But a part of him still wished for that one constant. Someone who wouldn’t vanish or change or look through him like he didn’t matter. Someone whose presence felt like solid ground instead of shifting shadows. It was a foolish thought, especially tonight, with the most unpredictable man in the city sitting at their dining table.

Aiden turned another page without seeing it. The blanket felt warmer now, cocooning him in the quiet safety of his room. Outside, the cars sat like silent guardians. Inside, the mansion buzzed with importance. And here he was flipping pages, heart somewhere downstairs near a man he had no right to think about this much.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the distant sounds of the evening wash over him. The roar of the engines had faded, but the presence of the Costellos remained, heavy and electric in the air. Emily was lucky, yes. But luck like that came with chains. Alexander wasn’t the kind of man who loved gently. He was the storm people invited in, hoping they could weather it.

Still, the smile from earlier lingered at the corners of Aiden’s mouth. Just one closer look. That was all he wanted. A single moment where those legendary blue eyes might accidentally meet his. Not that it would change anything. Not that it could. But in a life full of constant change, even a fleeting glimpse felt like something worth holding onto.

Aiden pulled the blanket higher, the novel now forgotten on his chest. His mind stayed far away on that certain person, turning the evening into something more than just another night of hiding. For now, that was enough.