Caelum’s pov."Does she know you are her husband's brother?"Sebastien asks me this question five times before I glower at him and he slinks off with a smile on his face. Of course, she knows I'm her husband's brother. She found that out days ago.What she doesn't know is my aim or vendetta against her husband, and for the next twenty-four hours, I monitor Sophia Highrise like a hawk as she slinks around my house and tries to figure out what she can.She's resourceful, I'll give her that.In barely twelve hours she's managed to befriend all the household help, from the adoring maids to the flirting donkey I have as a gardener. She wins them over in a way I can't fathom, so in twelve hours, Sophia has what she needs to gain knowledge about me, and it's barely been a day since she's been here.I let her.I let her befriend the help. I let her flash the gardener a smile. I suspect she knows they've seen the pictures so they have multiple opinions about her already, but she catches th

Alora and I make our way to the breakfast table almost awkwardly and I can feel her shaking beside me. My ears twitch at every shudder that goes through her.Almost instinctively I reach for her hand, and I am glad when she takes it.Despite the relative calmness of the surroundings when I stepped in, I realise there’s actually a number of things going on.There’s a large tattooed man in the kitchen at the far end of the large room. That is where all the cooking takes place, I guess Caelum Maximoff likes to watch his food being prepared even if it’s from a distance, AND of course the large tatted man is bald too, he’s probably some celebrity chef.We get to the dining table, and though I can feel Alora’s hesitation, I still drag her with me. We could choose to sit at the far end of the table, away from all of them, but I'd like to know what’s going on here, and who the mystery person is.I take the seat after the free seat closest to Caelum.He sits at the head of the table, while th

Caleum’s pov.My heart hammers a strange beat in my chest as I look at Sophia through the dark lens of the car’s windows. They’re all tinted, so they cast her in a muted light, yet she manages to shine despite it.She stands there like she isn’t aware I am the one who has asked her to get changed into that dress like she doesn’t know I am waiting for her right now.We wait each other out, and finally, I relent because I know I've been a jerk.I wind the window down, only to be assaulted by the full force of her. She’s let her hair down.She looks resplendent. This color suits her better.Sophia puts on an affected look. Like she’s just realizing the car which has been waiting for her all this while is mine, and that I am the one who’s in the car.It’s a game, and she’s won this round.I catch a whiff of her scent as she opens the door and gets in, and just to antagonize me further she casts a mildly aggrieved look at me before she looks away, “A proper gentleman would have come out

For the next ten minutes I search idly for Ulric with my eyes while my mind remains with my friends. It’s been some time since we’ve seen each other, but the sparks of our friendship are still relatively fresh.Ariana asks as she sips a drink,“What spurred you into doing something like this, Sophia? I thought you said you’d forever remain loyal to UIric.”The exact memory of me saying this comes back to mind, and as I finish the drink I've been nursing, I get up and smile at both of them.“I’ll round back later and give you guys the full details, Alright? Right now, I have to look for Ulric.”“Didn’t you guys come together?”I shake my head at that and Ariana and Breanne share a look.They’re both married, to loving adoring Alphas, and they know all about me and Ulric.“You looked stunning at the press conference that day Sophia. I almost forgot to mention it.’I smile at Breanne’s comment, and sometimes I think she sounds a bit like Luna Lovegood, just different, in a more mature wa

Caleum’s pov.She gardens when she is sad.I come back from the Conference, already armed with the knowledge that Sophia is here, in my house. And while I expect a war, I do not meet one.Sophia is in plain clothes again. The look on her face is dull. Her movements, though steady, lack that draft of energy she always has. That current that lets me know she is around and about, and that lets me poke at her sometimes,Just aching to see her lose herself, and grant me the triumph of seeing what dwells underneath.Guilt picks at my heart because of my tone when I spoke to her. Because of the words that I said to her. I know who she is. I know what she’s been through, and still, I spoke to her that way, made her feel the way Ulric makes her feel, and yet I say I’m nothing like that oaf.“Trouble in paradise?”Sebastien’s presence beside me registers like a wisp of smoke in my mind but my response is hard and cold.“There is no paradise. How’s the search going?”I see Sebastien shrug fr