Chapter 13

I jolt up—a bombardment of knocking.

Kel stumbles out of the bed like a drunkard. She grabs her robe and scrambles out of the room. I move upright, rubbing the cloudy haze from my eye. My red dress is cast on the chair, and I'm currently wearing an oversize hoodie that belonged to her ex-boyfriend that she never gave back. Now I understand why, it's insanely comfortable.

Kelsey's voice carries into her room, and I listen to the staccato of stomping boots like a horde of men just burst inside the house. I hurry out of her bed, scurrying out of the room and the shouting grows louder. I increase my speed to a jog until I'm in the main passage. Vance, with a gauntlet of guards, has Kels surrounded. Vance's eyes jump to me and unadulterated anger flickers across his face.

"Where is he?"

I gape at him, beyond bewildered. "Who?"

"Was he the man you met at the pawnshop?" Anger courses through him like molten lava as he heads towards me. "He took you home with him?"

Kelsey impedes his path. "No, because this is my house, and she met me. I had something I needed at the shop and I could only come in at that time. I needed help and Avara, being the best friend she is, she came. Then we had a sleepover. That okay with you?"

"There was no record of you," he says flatly.

Confusion screws up her face. "Record? You are watching her."

Vance's eyes are dead-bolted to mine. "She knows we are, which is why I know you're lying and you weren't on site."

"She slept here," Kelsey repeats with a raised voice. "You should have a record of that. There was no one else. That's the truth."

The men separate, going to inspect every inch of Kelsey's house.

"You can't just do this," I protest. "This is her home! We told you the truth. There is no one else."

Vance lifts his hand and summons me with a wag of his finger.

Kelsey knocks his hand away. "Don't you ever do that to her again."

Vance looks past her and jerks his chin. A guard grabs her from behind and relocates her to the living room, drawing shouts from me. I lunge forward to go after her but Vance swivels around and seizes my bicep, dragging me out of the house. Three polished black BMWs wait outside and we go to the one at the front. Vance opens the passenger side and shoves me inside with the wrathful weightlessness like I'm a toddler throwing a tantrum.

He rounds the car and gets in the driver's seat. I look back to see the guards pouring out of the house, with Kelsey pushing past them to see if I'm okay. She only catches a glimpse of me before the car launches forward. Vance drives away with a reckless rage, making sharp turns like we're being chased. I put on the seatbelt, clutching onto anything that I can.

"Can you slow down?" I arch against the seat, my stomach churning. "Please."

He gives a sidelong glare. "If there was no man. Why are you wearing a man's hoodie?"

"It belonged to her ex, Vance," I say in a fevered rush. "I needed something to sleep in. I went to visit my best friend. We had a lot to talk about and it was so late, I decided to crash there. Sorry that I didn't ask for permission."

Vance slows down, sudden clarity diluting his anger. "What did you talk about?"

I free a breathless laugh. "Excuse me? You're not in the position to be asking me questions. You're using my security detail to monitor me—control me, apparently."

"I wanted to make sure that you were safe."

I chaff at hollow chivalry. "I didn't think you'd care about some dirty, gold digger."

He tosses me an inquisitive look. "So that's what this is about? Because I called you out on what you are?"

Outrage tears me open from the inside. "You clearly don't know me."

He scoffs wryly. "Clearly, I wouldn't think someone as distinguished as you, or what your status implies as a public figure, would make suspicious midnight trips."

"To her best friend!" I scream back. "I don't have to answer you, and I sure don't have to prove anything to you. I shouldn't need to because I did nothing wrong."

Vance goes mute, crucifying me with his silence.

"You're not going to say anything?"

"I believe you," he mutters, as if he's vexed by that. "There's nothing more to say."

"How about, I'm sorry," I pronounce with deliberate enunciation. "You violated my privacy and trespassed on private property when you invaded Kelsey's house. She could call the cops on you."

"She could, but we both know it would be a waste of time." He spares me a cursory glance. His eyes are hard as his constant frown. At first glance, they seemed cold, a wall of unyielding stone behind which nothing could reach. But beneath that stoic surface, a faint flicker stirs, a trace of something buried—something unspoken. "I will send something to smooth things over."

"You want to buy her forgiveness? Just like you tried to do when you bought me that necklace?"

"I don't need her forgiveness." He cuts me with a razor-sharp look. "It's a gesture of goodwill. Though I am fierce in my pursuit of what I want. I'm not without my manners."

My own anger subsides, gone like smoke in the wind.

"And what is it you want?"

"For this alliance to work. For whatever its duration, it needs to work. I have my reasons as you have yours. This won't work if we don't trust each other."

"I trust you," I say earnestly. "As much as one can trust their fake boyfriend. If you don't trust me, trust my intentions. Everything I do is for my family, and no distance can measure how far I'd go for them. Trust that I wouldn't fail them by betraying you in any way."

His eyes flick to mine. And for a moment, a new emotion is born in his eyes, something raw and delicate, which is so rare, unnatural and somewhat awe-inspiring.

His response is resigned to a curt nod.

When we arrive at my father's townhouse. There's a white Bently in the driveway. Vance visibly tenses and speculations weigh heavy on him as he parks the car on the kerbside. I undo the seatbelt and we both climb out, exchanging glances and I know he knows who's here.

We go to the front entrance, but before I can get close. The door swings open. Silas pulls me into a bone-crushing hug, then Luciano engulfs us, hugging me as if I've been missing for months. Simultaneously, they both kiss either cheek the same way they did when I was young—almost every Christmas card and family photoshoot.

"What's going on?"

Silas pulls away, scanning me with crazed eyes. "What's going on is that we were worried!"

"Is that Avie?"

My dad hurries to us from behind.

Luciano fastens his unblinking stare on me. "Where have you been?" He expeditiously poses a series of questions. "We've been calling. You didn't come home last night. And whose hoodie are you wearing? Where are your clothes?"

He steps aside to let dad through. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and guides me inside.

"I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal. I slept over at Kelsey's place, just in case you forgot. I'm not a child."

"We know that," dad says gently. "We also know how responsible and meticulous you are with your affairs. You never leave without telling us hours or days in advance. You always plan your sleepovers and if you do something impromptu like this. You always call to let me know. Always."

"It was late, and I was tired. Plus, my battery died. I'm sorry."

"There is someone here for you. And Vance."

I appear in the lounge's archway to see Colton lounging on an armchair with Allison at his side. And Landen is seated on the long couch with his ankle resting on his opposite knee, staring at me with a masterfully devious smile. The sadistic glint in his eyes tells me he has done something... something I'll likely not be fond of.

"Avara, my apologies," Colton says, his tone jovial and free of judgment. "Was this a bad time?"

"No, I just came back from a sleepover at Kelsey's house. Last-minute kind of thing."

"And yet you're wearing a man's hoodie," Landen points out, his tone slick with scorn, ringing with cynicism.

"Which belonged to her ex-boyfriend, to answer everyone's question. I just needed to see my best friend."

"Completely understandable," Colton says with a smile that deserves to be on the cover of Vanity Fair or Vogue. "You may have to answer to your father, but not to us. I'm here to deliver the good news in person."

Vance makes his way to the front. "What news?"

"I think it's time you two get engaged soon. Pull the public's attention back to the powerful pair."

"What's with the fanfare?" Silas asks. "This is a private matter. Why should we be bothered to care what the public thinks about them? Whether they believe they're in love or not, how does any of that impact the alliance between our families in any way?"

"Something I'd like to know," Luciano mumbles.

"Perception is power, Mr Du Pont," Colton says cryptically. He looks back at me. "It's all been arranged with the help of Landen."

Vance hurls a dagger glare at him. "The same Landen that was against it to begin with?" His eyes simmer with suspicion. "Now he wants to help?"

Landen stands up with a sly smile. "I came over to your way of thinking. And father's. How it's going to go down is that a buddy of mine, Bahadur Sahir, is throwing one of his annual legendary parties."

"We're not doing it now, and we're definitely not doing it at one of your cesspools. Father, what he considers to be a party is a large-scale orgy."

"Hence, why I said legendary," he adds jokingly, chiding him with a playful glare. "Bahadur is not just any chum of mine. His affluence is equal to a Jordanian prince, brother. Many powerful and even more affluent people will be in attendance—an enviable guest list for the inevitable wedding."

Colton bobs his brow. "So you see, it seems he has use after all."

Landen takes the jab with an unquestionable smile.

"It will be glorious, a way to expand our interests exponentially by establishing connections with the right people."

Landen nods, his smile still enduring. "I already spoke to Bahadur to give you two the spotlight when it's time." His smile turns shark-like. "It's going to be the party of the century."