His slight was almost too much for her, and her mask of niceness slipped a bit. He doubted Clarissa really wanted him to touch her, but if she was being forced to do so, she apparently expected Cecil to act honored.
Her kind always did. The look in Clarissa’s eyes when she had glanced at him, Cecil knew it well. It was how many of the rich people he navigated around in the streets had looked at him—even those that had thought they were about to fuck him.
Those men had wanted him—thought they deserved to have him—yet, at the same time, they saw Cecil as someone that, after they were done, they would have no use for.
Cecil was nothing in her eyes. Clarissa thought she was superior to him in every way, and that she always would be. And she was probably right, Cecil would never have what she did. He would never have money or a high status of any kind, so by her standards, he was ‘nothing’.
Her gaze, like all the others, was full of smugness, with a hint of curiosity as to why he bothered with a life that was no doubt crappy. Because who would want to live without wealth and all the pretty pointless things they wastedmoney on? That smugness, that curiosity, it often vanished quickly in the ones who weren’t trying to get him in bed.
It turned into disgust. Because when he didn’t bow to them, didn’t acknowledge their superiority—when he didn’t give them what they thought they deserved—they became angry. Angry that a person who was a ‘nothing’ dared to question their beliefs about the world. They became angry because Cecil would not give them the respect that they were always given, but had never earned.
Their anger was pointless. No matter how big of a fit they threw, they would never get it. No one could buy his respect. No one could buy him.
He was a thief, possibly reformed, but even he had standards. Those standards meant never giving his respect to douchebags or bitches. And the woman standing in front of him was most definitely a bitch.
After Sin left with Miss Bitchface, Cecil had followed Benji and Roth back to the rec room. Unfortunately, they hadn’t stayed there for long. They had barely sat down when one of the men from earlier had popped his head in and announced that dinner was ready.
Surprisingly, the dining room had only been two doors and a long hallway away. But the minute Cecil had gotten to the door at the end…well, the opening of said door had led to his current state of bafflement.
Staring into the dining room in horror, Cecil’s right eye twitched. A big welcome sign hung from the ceiling, along with various other decorations. There were presents piled up in every corner, that Cecil suspected were for him. And yet again, he was being stared at by an entire room.
But, to be honest, that wasn’t really why he was staring in horror. It was less the dining room and more of the loud “Welcome, Cecil” that about forty or so random strangers had just screamed at him, while confetti had flown everywhere and streamers hit him in the face. So heremained frozen in his spot, completely unsure of what to do…
If he moved, would they? If he ran, would they follow?
Sipping slowly from his wine glass, Sin savored the sweet substance on his tongue. He couldn’t help but appreciate the ambience of the restaurant.
The ceiling lights were set low, so most of the illumination came from the lit candles at each table. Large windows framed the night sky, its twinkling stars a beauty that was not easy to ignore. It was calming. Sin would love to gaze into it for hours.
A soft symphony rang out, perfectly in tune as bows glided across tight strings. Part of him wanted to close his eyes and let the music carry him away.
He was seconds away from taking another sip of wine when whatever calm he had felt was ruined by Clarissa.
“I must say, while nothing is ever out of place, the suit you are wearing now makes you look downright edible,” she purred.
Sin barely held back his grimace at the woman’s attempt at seduction. It sounded like something was caught in her throat.
“It was made by the clothing designer Yuna Sterling. He is a rather impressive young man. I can proudly say I was one of his first customers. Since then, his business has taken off, so much so that requests must be made months in advance. It has become a habit of mine to put in an ordereach time I’m in Bram.” Sin chuckled. “Even if I happen to be hours away from his shop. I believe you have purchased from him before.”
She appeared slightly put out that he had not reciprocated her advance. Considering Sin was planning to end things tonight, he thought doing so would be wrong. He felt no urge to anyway.
Now that Sin thought about it, he had never felt the urge, which only highlighted that he should have ended this relationship far sooner than tonight.
“Yes, he is…talented,” she said, her words almost a grumble. “So what kept you so busy today?”
Sitting his glass down, he stated, “I’m afraid, I am not at liberty to say.”
“I see. Well, I would have thought you would trust me more by now. I’m not one for gossip.”
“Clarissa, whether I trust you or not has nothing to do with my duty to my position or to the kings.” In all honesty, Sin did not trust her at all.
“King,” Clarissa corrected, a look of disgust crossing her face. “It shouldn’t be forgotten that the man King Adrian married is…just a consort, thankfully. Can you imagine if the council had actually given him the title? Ridiculous, really. There should be a law that our king shouldn’t be able to risk the throne falling into the hands of another species.”
Opinions held only by fools, Sin thought with irritation. The disdain that accompanied her words had him feeling better about how he planned to end the evening.
“And what would you suggest they do?” Sin asked tightly.
She blinked, no doubt picking up on his tone. It, apparently, was not enough to deter the ignorance thatcame out of her mouth next. “Well, I mean, I’m not against other species mating. But in such a case of keeping the bloodlines pure, no one can deny that it is a bad practice. King Adrian should have thought more of his position. We are fortunate that the offspring was born a vampire. Of course, we now have to worry that whatever child the prince has in the future will beother.”
