Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 34243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
He can really, really kill you.
We had finally reached that stage of friendship where we no longer needed words.
I’m not kidding, Ti.
I know.
But it’s still worth a shot.
“Tiara...”
Joy’s soft tone draws me out of my memories. Outside, somewhere along the lane, a horse and rider are passing—the rhythmic clop of hooves carrying through the morning room—and the sound is what brings me back, more than her voice does.
“Today’s press conference is about to start.”
Ah.
Right.
That’s today.
It’s one of the many things we discussed back then, with all of us trying to figure out how and when Arkane would try to hurt me, in case this whole thing backfires, and it would turn out that all he wants is my pound of flesh.
“You can still back out.”
Arkane’s mother is smiling when she says this, but her eyes are also bright with tears, and I guess, that means it’s one of those moments.
I slowly shake my head. “If he tries to hurt me, it’s because I hurt him first—”
“You don’t understand.” Tassy’s voice is shaking, too. Her hand finds Joy’s across the table and grips. “We just heard...”
No no no no no no
“Mirabella’s here, too.”
Oh. I see. Okay.
I feel like I should do something. Say something. But I think I’m in shock.
Mirabella’s here?
The girl who...
She’s here?
Icelle grabs my hand. “I don’t like this.” Her face is a blank. Her tone is a blank. But the hand that’s holding mine is so, so cold.
She’s afraid for me.
And so am I.
But this is just one of those things that has to happen so we can all know, once and for all.
For everything there’s a season, and as much as I love him—I still don’t know if these times we have...
Are they meant to last?
Or are these moments the last I’ll ever have of him?
Chapter Six
“FIVE MINUTES, MILORD. Five minutes to places.”
The stage director’s voice carried in from the corridor, and a runner ducked his head into the men’s dressing room to confirm it before disappearing again.
“This is so exciting, milord,” the makeup artist said giddily while lightly dabbing his face with powder. It was all part of the program, and because they did owe the Foxes a favor, Arkane remained stoic and still in the makeup chair.
“I was in the ball last night, and you and Lady Tiara—is it really true, that you had this summer romance six years ago?”
He was saved from answering when she continued on—
“The way you guys were looking at each other, milord. I said to myself, that’s love. That’s true love right there—”
—which meant she didn’t really expect a reply.
“And it’s worth waiting for, isn’t it?”
She paused with the powder brush held just above his cheek, and looked at him expectantly.
“Thank you for your work. I appreciate it.”
The compliment was an effective distraction, and Arkane was able to leave the dressing room without having to lie. The corridor outside ran behind the press conference hall, lined with closed doors for hair, wardrobe, and the various staging rooms the Foxes had set aside. Foxtown staff in livery moved purposefully along it, none of them meeting his eyes, which meant they had been instructed not to.
And that was the whole point of today.
Nothing had to change.
Because she was the one who had cheated, not him.
And this...this was six years in the making.
He waited for his cue at the threshold, just out of sight of the audience.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Earl of Revanche, Lord Arkane Young.”
He stepped out, and the crowd of park guests welcomed him with the same warmth and excitement. The press conference hall had been dressed for the Season finale—chandeliers throwing soft yellow light over the rows of seated guests, a raised stage at the far end backed by a vast Foxtown crest in gold leaf, and at his feet, the long red-carpet aisle that ran the full length of the room toward that stage. And all the welcome did was make him wonder—would they still feel the same, once they realized what he had planned all along?
The program required him to walk down the red carpet aisle, deliberately mirroring what would a groom do on his wedding day, and ah, even Joy had been roped in. She was waiting for him at the head of the aisle in a gown of deep green silk, her gloved hands folded in front of her. He offered her his arm, and she accepted it.
They started walking.
“How are you feeling, Arkane?”
“Perfect.”
“That’s good.”
He looked at her. “It’s unlike you to lie.”
She met his gaze with eyes that looked as if she had been weeping just moments ago. “I could say the same to you, my love.”
And it was then...he had an inkling.
And once he sensed that not everything was under his control—
“How did you know,” he asked tightly, “and how much do you know?”
“I just know you,” Joy said softly, “and that’s all I have to know.”