Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

The party didn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon and I figured I would be on my way to my hotel already. Besides, watching Devon and his fiancée dance like two intoxicated flamingos made my heart churn.

I brought out my phone to look at the time. It was a minute past two o'clock in the morning. I was sure to still get an Uber that would take me down to my hotel.

Unless....

The weather was pretty awful on this side of town. It would take at least an hour before I got to my hotel.

"Looks like it's about to rain," I said to myself in disgust and stood up from my chair. I took one last look at Devon.

And to my surprise, I caught him staring at me. He looked away instinctively and rested his gaze on his fiancée.

So he knew I was here and had been doing all of that bullshit just to spite me. If my lungs had been any hotter during the past few minutes I had been in here, now, that would have been set on fire.

I yanked my bag from the table and was about to make my way out when I had a change of heart.

Devon was watching me just as I had been watching him. He just pretended not to see me and not to care.

If I stormed out of here, it would only be working the effect he had wanted to have on me by dancing for hours and almost making out with the woman in front of everybody.

With a calm demeanor, I clutched my bag to my stomach with both hands, pressing down my frustration and anger. I walked out of the ballroom with calculated steps.

Swaying my hips as much as it didn't hurt while I walked out.

The rain had already begun. With clenched teeth, I stood at the exit, staring at the raindrops falling onto the ground.

Cold droplets splattered against my bare shoulders, soaking through the silk of my dress in seconds. My heels clicked against the stone as I moved beneath the narrow awning at the entrance, watching streams of water twist down the grand iron gate like veins.

Perfect.

I pulled my phone from my clutch and watched the signal flicker in and out. No service. Of course not. The Crest estate was practically carved into the side of Arkenwald’s hills, it was remote, towering, and, evidently, a black hole for data. I tried to summon a ride anyway, but the loading circle just spun like a cruel joke

"How was I going to get home in this condition?" I said out loud to myself.

If I knew any better, I would have left earlier, instead of having to go through the horror of watching and calculating Devon.

The rain seemed to intensify by every minute. There was no leaving here until the rain had subsided and I had no umbrella with me.

A gust of wind pushed the rain sideways, and I stepped back, bumping into a column. I huffed, arms crossed, glaring at the sky. The ballroom behind me was still alive with champagne and whispers. I had no desire to go back in.

Just as I began to wonder how long it would take to walk to the nearest main road in heels, I felt the unmistakable presence of someone at my back.

“Waiting on divine intervention?”

I turned sharply. Alaric Crest stood behind me, one hand tucked into the pocket of his coat, the other holding a sleek black umbrella. He wasn’t wet. He hadn’t been out here long.

He had that maddening ability to appear without sound, like fog slipping beneath a door.

“Waiting on a ride,” I said, straightening. “Though I’d probably have better luck hitchhiking with ghosts.”

He looked at the screen in my hand, the blue circle still spinning. “Your driver’s not coming.”

“Thank you,” I said flatly. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He arched a brow, then looked out at the rain. “Come. I’ll take you.”

“To the gates?”

“To wherever you’re going.”

I hesitated. “I’m heading back to my hotel.”

He gave a small nod, as if calculating the route. “Then I’ll take you there.”

“No need. I’d rather wait. I’m sure it’ll clear up soon.”

“It won’t.”

“I’m not your responsibility.”

“No,” he agreed. “You’re not. But I am offering you a way to avoid catching pneumonia. Humor me.”

The cold was starting to seep into my skin as my fingers trembled slightly, and I hated that he noticed that.

“I appreciate the offer,” I said, “but I don’t make a habit of getting into cars with men who speak like villains from old fairy tales.”

He smiled, very faintly. “Then let’s pretend I’m just a man with a car and an umbrella, and you’re a woman about to shiver herself into a fever.”

I stared at him for a beat too long, then exhaled. “Fine. But only to the gates.”

He didn’t respond, only turned and began walking toward a sleek black car parked beneath one of the covered side paths.

When I climbed in, the warmth hit me like a wave. The seats were soft leather, the interior scent was a mix of cedar, faint smoke, and something like old books sealed in glass. Alaric settled into the driver’s seat, quiet and practiced.

The drive started in silence. Trees blurred past the window, their skeletal limbs reaching out in the dark.

“Still unimpressed?” he asked after a few minutes.

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You were disappointed,” he said. “When I offered you a ride. It showed on your face.”

“I didn’t expect to see you again tonight,” I said. “That’s all.”

“That’s a polite way of saying you’d hoped not to.”

I shifted in my seat. “I didn’t come here for more conversation.”

“You came here to hurt him.”

My head snapped toward him. “Pardon?”

“Devon,” he said calmly. “You’re not very subtle, Miss Virelle.”

“No,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “And neither are you.”

He smirked again…God, did that ever fade?...but I didn’t respond. The silence returned again, thicker this time.

I stared out the window. Rain beaded against the glass, blurring the lights of the city far below. We weren’t heading toward the city.

“Where are we going?” I asked, slowly.

“My house,” he said, as if it were obvious. “I assumed you’d prefer somewhere dry to wait until the roads are usable again. Unless you’d rather be dropped off at a closed gate in a downpour.”

I glared at him. “You could’ve told me that before you started driving.”

“You were in no condition to argue. Besides,” he added, glancing at me, “I was curious what you’d say once you realized.”

The gall of this man.

I considered demanding he turn around. But a part of me that was curled somewhere between pride and exhaustion stayed silent. I was soaked and cold at the same time. And the game wasn’t over.

“Fine,” I said quietly. “But don’t mistake this for surrender.”

He nodded, eyes still on the road. “I wouldn't dream of it.”

The car curved through ancient pines and wrought-iron gates, the world then slipped into a different kind of quiet.

Alaric Crest’s mansion waited at the end of the road.

Somehow, I knew this wasn’t the end of the night, It was only the beginning.