“She did.”
Leo turned to the fireplace, cursing through gritted teeth. To think of his mother circling Prim like a helpless prey. Anger rose inside him like hot lava ready to erupt.
“I will have a word with my mother tomorrow. Thank you for telling me, Ed.”
“Uhm,” Edwin was hesitant to give him the final blow.
Leo turned, scowling, the skin over his knuckles stretched white.
“Ed?”
Edwin huffed.
“You really need to communicate more with Prim.”
“Ed?”
“Bridget spoke of making amends and-”
“ED!” Leo’s voice was a whip-crack in the quiet room.
Edwin drained his glass and got up, facing his friend with a look of grim finality.
“Prim accepted the invitation.”
“Hell!”
Leo’s breath left him in a short, sharp hiss. Every muscle in his body locked. Leo searched Edwin’s eyes with the hope that this was all an elaborate prank. Edwin stared back with the look of a man who wished he were joking.
Leo glanced at the cursed invitation on the desk and then at the clock over his desk. His shoulders squared, but his look turned icy cold. Absolute silence reigned in the comfortable study.
“You must excuse me, Ed,” Leo said, his voice a low, velvety rasp. “I have a ball to attend.”
The Covington estate rose from its manicured grounds, gilded and perfect. Every single window was lit, and the music spilledinto the opulent gardens. Leo couldn’t admire any of it. In his eyes, the place was a glorified trap that he willingly entered. And those who set it up would regret their decision.
The moment he entered the ball, all eyes fell on him. The relationship with his mother was no secret, which was underlined by the fact that this was the first time he ever attended.
Leo was not there to indulge in the rumor mill that never stopped. He was there with a singular purpose. He didn’t know what madness led Prim into the wolves’ den buts he was not going to sit around and watch her torn to pieces.
He was responsible for this. His family had targeted him, and she was the collateral damage. He was a lot of things, a rake, a cynic, perhaps even worse things than that, but he was not the kind of villain who let an innocent woman take the fall for his own poisoned legacy.
If he were to be the monster they all feared, he would at least be a monster who protected what was his. And Prim, whether she liked it or not, had become his to protect.
“Your Grace,” a random socialite, some Countess, who mistook herself for important. “We didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Then pretend you didn’t,” Leo said coldly.
The irksome woman left, shocked, but that gave little solace to Leo. He was scanning the ballroom with the urgency of impending doom. He needed to find Prim and fast. But she was nowhere to be seen. Dread got hold of his soul, and it was a nasty, cruel feeling. He scanned the room once more, urgently, his eyes darting to every corner and nook.
There was no way for him to sit still anymore. He shouldered his way through the crowd, looking at everyone and no one. Every flash of blonde hair made his heart leap, only to be replaced by curdling disappointment.
He wandered around all the areas, but still no luck. His restlessness became palpable, evident in the way his usually relaxed hands were clenched at his sides, the leather of his gloves straining. Perhaps Prim was the strategist he had pegged her to, and her accepting the invitation was just a ploy. Yes. Prim agreed only to avoid a scene, and she is safe in her home.
“We really need to stop running into each other like that,” a voice came behind him.
Aaron circled till he was standing right in front of him. Leo’s body locked. Every muscle coiled in an instant, his body squaring off. His chin dipped, his shoulders rolling back to broaden his stance. Leo recognized immediately what his body did on instinct. He was preparing for a fight, as he did in a ring.
“I’d rather we stopped meeting at all,” Leo growled, “but it seems it is unavoidable.”
