Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
For a moment, there’s silence as she regards me with a mixture of disbelief and begrudging respect, and then I see her shoulders slumping with defeat.
“Fine,” she relents, her voice barely a whisper. “But make no mistake, Grecia. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for my son.”
Finally, I see evidence of emotion. Maybe she’s consciously hiding it or she’s refusing to let herself feel it, but there is some humanity inside this woman.
“Thank you,” I respond with a nod.
I didn’t think I’d get her to agree. Bringing up my father was underhand, but I want to do all I can to make sure Tarian gets what he needs to heal. Even though he’s acted like an asshole, I can’t bring myself to stop caring about him.
My heart weighs heavy with memories of the times I’ve spent with Tarian. We’ve had so many special moments, but I know I have to let him go. He can’t be allowed to believe a liar over me and treat me like trash ever again.
“You love him,” she says suddenly.
“I don’t know.” I shrug, not wanting to talk about my feelings with this woman.
She nods slowly before saying, “I’ll show you out.”
As we make our way through the dimly lit corridor to the front door, I can’t shake the feeling that beneath Mrs. Calvert’s icy exterior there’s a woman haunted by the ghosts of her past.
“Sweetheart,” Thane’s cold tone comes from the sweeping staircase behind me as we reach the foyer, and my feet stop in their tracks.
Mrs. Calvert turns, and I witness the way she looks at Thane. There’s an emotion in her eyes that was absent throughout our meeting. The woman in front of me, whose heart appears to be as fractured as my own and her son’s, seems to have found true happiness.
Granted, it is with a domineering asshole, but who am I to judge.
“I don’t think you should be leaving so soon, Grecia,” Tarian’s uncle says as he makes his way down the stairs to where we’re standing. His movements are slow and calculated.
“Grecia can’t stay,” Mrs. Calvert tells him, and her tone is tight with something I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s anxiety, fear even, but I can hear it entwined in her words as she speaks.
“I think she should stay.” The threat in Thane’s tone is clear. If I’d known he would be here, maybe I would have asked to meet Tarian’s mother in town. “Don’t you, Yasmine?”
Thane leans in and brushes his hand across my shoulder, sending ice down my spine. I want nothing more than to run, but there’s nowhere to go. I’m pretty sure he’ll have me dragged back if I try to escape.
“Thane, we don’t have to do this,” Tarian’s mother tells him.
“Do what?” I ask, looking at Mrs. Calvert, whose expression has changed considerably from the contentment I saw on her face a few moments ago.
Thane’s chuckle vibrates through his chest as he responds, “Let’s sit down. This might take some time.” He gestures with his hand in the direction of the living room where we’ve just come from. “I think you need to make a call to your daddy, Grecia.”
We return to the living room, and as I’m shoved down onto the sofa, I know without a shadow of doubt that trouble is brewing.
CHAPTER 21
GRECIA
The cold walls of the mansion hold me hostage, like prison bars. And the eyes of my captors burn into me, their silent judgment suffocating me.
Initially, when I called my father and asked him to come, he refused because he was on urgent Sovereign business, but having heard the fear in my voice, he said he’d be at the address within the hour. Thane hasn’t told me what he wants from Dad, but knowing that Mrs. Calvert was once in love with my father makes me think it has something to do with their past. And nothing to do with me.
I’m about to ask when Mrs. Calvert says, “Thane, we should leave. Just as we always planned. I’ll disappear, like I did before. Tarian doesn’t want me in his life, and I know he’ll be better off without me.”
“Yasmine,” Thane responds as he turns to regard her. “You know what we must do. I want the Crown, and Gregory can get it for me because he is one of the original Elders left in the society. With Abner in prison, there is no other member I can go to. And the Crowns have to ask the Elders for permission.”
I’m merely a pawn in a game of vengeance and ambition orchestrated by Thane Calvert and his mistress, Yasmine Calvert. My only hope of escape is the promise from my father that he’ll be here soon. If his imminent arrival can satiate Thane, I can leave. I know my father won’t want me anywhere near the bastard who’s now peering at me through thick, dark lashes.