Instead, I drifted towards the exterior doors, my heart beating rapidly. It wasn’t broken, but I could still feel bruises in places of my heart I hadn’t noticed in a while.
I finished off the champagne and stepped onto the balcony, needing air. Clean air, not the filtered perfume–drenched glamour that clung to the ballroom like a second skin.
The stone was cold beneath my heels, and I welcomed the bite of The wind tugged at the curls pinned above my neck, pulling stray strands loose. It felt better out here.
Logan
The sound of clinking glasses and polite laughter was tolerable, barely.
I stood just off the main ballroom, pretending to be engaged in a conversation with some minor Alpha from the southern ridge. My eyes, however, were locked on Emily across the room.
She was smiling.
Not that tight, performative smile she used for nobles or photo ops This smile was polite. Controlled.
The man beside her had a practiced ease, shoulders squared like someone who didn’t need to prove himself anymore. His posture wasn’t aggressive, but it was territorial. Familiar.
And when he laughed at something she said, I recognized the sound she made in return.
It wasn’t much. Just a breath of amusement.
But I’d heard it before. In the greenhouse, in the gardens, once on the back stairs late at night when she thought I wasn’t listening. It wasn’t a sound she gave freely.
And now he had it.
“Ah,” came a voice to my left. “That’s Michael, isn’t it? Her ex? Looks like the poor bastard’s trying to reclaim lost territory.”
I didn’t respond. My jaw locked too tightly for that.
The noble chuckled. “You’ve definitely traded up, Alpha. From the outside, anyway.”
He raised his glass toward me in a lazy toast. I gave him a nod I didn’t mean and turned away before I said something I’d regret. The gut class of my tumbler bit into my palm. I loosened my grip just enough not to shatter it.
Across the room, Michael nodded once, said something final, and then Emily turned to walk away. Not hurried. Not upset. Just… distant. Her face was unreadable, which made it worse.
I didn’t know what had passed between them. Only that she hadn’t looked at Michael like he was a threat. And she hadn’t looked at me at all.
Michael stayed behind, lingering too long, watching her leave. The way his gaze followed her made something in my chest pull tight. That kind of looking meant unfinished business. It meant regret. Or worse–intent.
And I wasn’t sure what would be worse: if she returned that intent, or if she had once and never would again.
Lexhaled, a slow controlled breath through my nose, and finished what was left in my glass.
Emily disappeared behind a group of elders near the exit, her dress catching the light like water slipping through fingers. She needed space. And I didn’t need to make a public scene.
But stars above, I wanted to punch something.
I caught Michael looking in my direction a moment later. Not smug. Not aggressive. Just cool. Confident.
Chapter 94
Like he knew things about her I never would. The thought made throat tighten.
+25 BONUS
Texcused myself from the conversation I was barely pretending to have. Instinct drover me to follow Emily towards the balcony. It wasn’t just jealousy I was feeling. It was frustration.
No matter what we shared in private, what we were building, quietly, carefully; one sharp smile from the past could make me feel like I was losing ground I hadn’t even claimed yet.
I braced my hands against the doors and stared through the glass the stunning woman who had my emotions on a roller
coaster.
You’re not hers, I told myself. And she’s not yours.
But it didn’t matter. Because I wanted her to be.
And watching another man look at her like she once belonged to him made every part of me want to fight.
Today’s Bonus Offer
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