บท 20: Chapter 20
"I'm here," I inform her with my phone glued to my ear.
"Still waiting in the bathroom."
Grayson sprouts from nowhere. "Avara, hey. My dad told me about your condition," he says, pawing at his throat in gesture. "I hope you feel better soon."
My condition. I nod uneasily, smiling. elastically
"I know I'll feel pretty good if you'll come to my dad's party. Nod if you're coming, nod twice if you're definitely coming."
I nod eagerly, my smile extending.
He sticks out his pinkie finger. "Promise?"
I loop my pinkie around his, fixing on a serious look. I squeeze his finger to affirm my promise.
"Avara?"
I bring my phone back to my ear. I reluctantly part ways with Grayson and I sneak to a corner, out of earshot and close to the bathrooms. And I can see a suited Vance posted outside like a sentry on guard duty.
"I'm here, but he's manning the door. You're going to have to distract him so I can creep past him without him noticing one Avara coming in when the other one was already there."
She releases a panicked sound, then hangs up. I watch from afar, but still at a perceptible distance. Promptly, Kelsey struts out, caramel skin glowing in the sunlight. Vance turns and pays her his undivided attention.
"Where is she?" he demands.
"Crying. Hard."
I can see his incredulous look from here.
"Crying over what?"
"The fact that you can say that with a straight face is despicable."
"You are really starting to piss me off."
"That was my intention."
Out of nowhere, she kicks his shin. He snaps forward, muffling a pained groan. She darts around him, quick as a flash of lightning and in that split second; she swipes his phone from his back pocket with the artistry of a skilled thief.
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm sure." His words soaked in sarcasm.
"Should I call for help?" She lifts his phone.
He lengthens himself, his face growing serious. "Give it back."
She waves it provokingly. "Come get it."
He marches over to her, drawing him away, his eyes locked on her. I tiptoe over in a rush, hurrying to the entrance. I pitch a glance to make sure she's okay. Kelsey hides his phone behind her back and Vance captures her by the waist, his arms coiling around her to steal back the phone. The playful yet heated scene ignites a spark of something ugly—a flare of jealousy that I easily snuff out.
I shove myself forward, entering the bathroom.
"Sarah?"
She bursts out of a stall, letting out a relieved cry. "Thank God."
"You did amazing." I come over to her, snatching off her scarf and wig, liberating her auburn locks. "Thank you so much."
"No, thank you. Because of you, I got to meet Vance Vacheron," she frees an excited squeal, having a complete fan-girl moment. "He's so much hotter in person." She takes off her blazer, turning it inside out, and it goes from beige to crimson red.
I lace the scarf around her neck. And she tucks it inside the neckline.
"Okay, so security cares more about who comes in, rather than who goes out. If someone does stop you, just say you're with me."
She does an exaggerated nod.
"I'll go out first, then you follow after a moment."
"Sure. And hey." A meaningful look passes over her face. "This was kinda fun."
A smile spreads on my face. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."
I whirl around, throwing the wig in the bin on my way to the exit. I strut back to the gazebo with my nose to the sky. Eventually, Vance and Kelsey stop their squabbling and they pursue me. But I'm on my way to find Grayson. And I do. He welcomes me back with a dazzling smile, offering me his arm. I take it, hooking my arm with his.
"Everything okay?"
"Just another day in the life."
He sends me an astonished look. "I thought your doctor said you couldn't speak?"
I raise a shoulder. "Perhaps you're worth the pain."
His eyes flick down to my lips, his tongue wetting his lower lip. "That's not the type of pain that I fantasize causing you."
His admission brings me to a standstill, warmth flushing my face.
"Avara?"
Vance marches up to us, buttoning up his suit jacket. Kelsey not far behind.
Grayson groans. I elbow him lightly, which triggers a small laugh from him.
With his eyes fastened around our linked arms, he demands, "Avara, a word, please?"
I hand Grayson a rueful look. He receives it with a chivalrous smile.
"Kelsey," he says, undoing our arms. "They're serving imported wine all the way from Sicily. I thought you would like to sample some. Refined wine for a refined woman."
Kelsey comes closer. "Don't mind if I do."
She sends me a smile, but I look away. She frowns and Grayson and her walk off.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"You crying. For starters."
"Not over you, so you don't have to worry."
"Then about what?"
"That question would require you to care. Which we both know you don't."
"Then why am I here?" he retorts.
I shrug. He takes my hand to lead us back outside, but he doesn't hold my hand, the tips of his fingers are clamped around it like a child plucking a worm from the dirt. He pauses and pivots to face me with a determined look on his face, like he's about to profess something life-altering. He gets into a ready stance, squaring his shoulder and setting me with a solemn stare.
"I'm sorry," he declares. "I'm sorry about what I said to you in the car that night. Honestly, I haven't slept well since because I judged you unfairly. You've been nothing but kind to me. And supportive. I don't know your reason for agreeing to this alliance, but I also have my own. Far more self-serving compared to your motivations. Everything you do, you do it for others. That much I can confidently say about you."
Wordless, I stare back at him, not even blinking. My brain is struggling to process this moment.
"You… okay?"
I blink many times, easing the burn. "No. Are you okay? You're apologizing? I never thought I'd see the day."
"Don't get used it," he grumbles.
"And he's back," I say with a small smile. "And I forgive you. How about we start over? Fresh slate?"
He considers, then nods rigidly. "Okay. My name is Vance Vacheron. And before you go getting any ideas. I'm taken. The mayor's daughter is my girlfriend."
"And I'm Avara Du Pont," I say, playing along. "And you shouldn't be talking to me. My billionaire boyfriend is really possessive."
He breaks into a smile, as rare as glimpsing a shooting star. "I have other qualities, too. And technically, I'm not a billionaire, only the son of one. All that money belongs to my father."
"But you're his son?"
It dawns on me. "This is why you agreed to the alliance? You want your piece of the pie."
He looks away fleetingly, giving a stiff headshake. "That's only a small part of the reason." He looks back at me expectantly. "I showed you mine. Now you show me yours."
You'd regret it if you knew.
"All I'll say is that it has nothing to do with money. And yet everything to do with it."
***
At the edge of midnight. A thousand things race in my mind.
I think of a hundred different realities of what could happen since the moment I walked into Colton Vacheron's office. Botan. Simon. All of it. And none are even remotely good. To make things even more cataclysmic, my father is the deep-seated root of all of my problems. And I can't bring myself to face that. Simon's perspective prods at me still, scarring my every thought. The truth is a question; do I really know the man I call father? That is a question I can't dare myself to ask.
And Botan. I'm not shocked that he is who is because of who he works for. But that doesn't make it any less mortifying. It shouldn't bother me the way that it does, but… it does. And I don't know how to stop it. I've tried to ignore his antics, but that led him straight to my bedroom.
You can't keep your head in the ground forever.
What Simon suggested is immoral. I can't betray my own father. I just won't!
But perhaps I should just talk to him? Clear the air and find out exactly what leverage they have over my dad that strong-armed him into a deal with the devil like Haru Black. I want to know every granular detail of how and why Haru Black chose my father to exploit. There are plenty of powerful government officials, and yet he chose him. Why?
However, that will have to wait a day because tomorrow I have supper with satan's spawn.
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