Chapter 36 SHATTERRED EDGES.
SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW.
The word fiancée echoes in my mind like poison, with the force of a million jolts each time I move. I'm not safe in my dreams either, because all my mind can conjure, even when I'm asleep, is Seraphina and Lucien getting married.
I had no idea why Eldric Ravesscroft would arrange a marriage for his son with a scholarship kid like me. It made no sense to me, no matter how much I tried to think about it.
Seraphina's voice sliced through my mind, at least five times every thirty minutes, as her claim over Lucien sends a bitter taste in my mouth. Lucien's mine, playing house.....every word she spoke regarding my boyfriend sent a pang of hurt and jealousy to my heart.
And I hated it.
I hated her.
I can't believe I ever smiled at her that day she and her uncle moved in. If I had known she was a bitch, I would have hosed her off my fucking lawn.
I hated how she fit easily into his world, how Lucien's father handpicked her for him, but would never consider me a worthy woman at Lucien's side. I hated that I could picture her standing at his side.
Their engagement gala reminded me of one fact;
Lucien could never be mine, not in the way I wanted him to, at least. He would always belong to someone his father picked for him, and I would be cast away from his side.
I was the scholarship girl, the charity case, the girl with bad shoes and bad clothes. And now, I was the placeholder. Meant to be at Lucin's side for as long as she would allow.
It sent a sick feeling to my stomach.
My fingers curled around my books as I walked to literature class. Lucien's presence barely registered in my mind as we walked side by side.
The horsemen walked behind us in silence. After we each witnessed what Seraphina did, the air has been tense. Especially from Theo.
He seemed to have taken her presence the hardest, which was weird, because that should have been Lucien and.
"You're spiraling, baby," Lucien whispered beside me, grabbing my books with one hand as his other hand intertwined our hands. His voice cut in low and smooth as velvet. He walked so close to me that his presence sent a magnetic feel coursing through me.
Ever since we put this fake thing aside and started going out for real, he's been nothing but perfect for me. He'd sleep in my bed on most nights, after fucking me till I couldn't breathe. Or I'd sleep in his room at the spot.
So far, I have loved every second with him.
"I'm not," I muttered, even as my heart beat with jealousy.
His response was a smirk as he brushed his shoulder with mine. "Don't lie to me, sunshine. I can smell your jealousy from a mile away."
"Why shouldn't I be? You heard her, she's your fiancée." I shrieked, my response flying out too fast as my right hand clenched into a fist by my side.
He laughs, the sound dark and deeply amusing, like I'd told a funny joke. "You think some silly deal with my father matters to me? " He scoffs, his grip tightening on mine, but still soft. "She doesn't exist to me. She is nothing but a pawn, one I'll crush soon."
He says, and his words should have soothed me, but they didn't. The reality of things crushed me as the truth stared me blankly in the face. His words didn't erase the way Seraphina had looked at him earlier. She looked as though she could take him away from me as soon as she wanted.
And the truth is, she could...and she probably would.
Because whoever made the threat to me via email wasn't bluffing. It might have been his father, or even her....and sooner or later, everything would come crashing down on me.
Lucien must have noticed the panicked expression on my face, because he stopped abruptly before we could walk through the doors for class.
His hands trail my jaw smoothly, as his eyes lock on mine with a stare so intensely calming, I feel my shoulders relaxing as I stare at him.
"I'll protect you. He won't touch you or your father. Do you hear me?" He asks, his tone commanding and hard, but at the same time, smooth and soft as he caressed my cheeks. "I would do anything for you, you know that."
"Lucien." I called out, looking away as I whispered, "You can't promise that. You and I know your father owns everything."
He chuckles, staring at me as he licks his lips slightly. His mouth curled in a cruel smile as he said, "Then I'll take everything from him. It's mine anyway, I can just take it before it's time."
Before I could respond, the voice of the literature cuts between us: "Students, I expect you all to be seated in the next ten seconds, or else..."
I quickly pulled from Lucien's hold, moving to go inside, but Lucien grabbed my wrist. He pins the teacher with a glare so cold, it would run an icicle through his heart.
"We will come in whenever we fucking want to. If I tell you to wait there like a good teacher, you will. Nobody orders me around." He said, his tone dark with anger.
He never likes it when anyone interrupts us.
I grabbed onto his arm and rubbed it in a bid to get him calm. "It's okay," I whispered, and his eyes turned blue to me. For a moment, he stares at me before he visibly relaxes.
Before we could walk in, the principal's voice cut in through the intercom.
"Attention, students." His voice sounds clipped as he speaks, "Prom will be held this Friday at the Ravenscroft High grand hall. Votes for prom king and queen can start now. Tickets will go out at lunch today, and attendance is mandatory for all students." The intercom shuts after that, as everyone begins to whisper excitedly at the announcement of Prom.
Prom at Ravenscroft High was more like a fashion week event. Everyone would be dressed in nothing short of couture, designed by their favorite designers, as every rich student tried to upstage the other.
Last year's Mid-semester prom, someone anonymously sent me a short black dress made by Valentino. I'd never planned to attend until the dress appeared on my front porch, with only a note telling me to come.
My stomach plummeted to my feet as I thought about the event. With everything that has been going on, the betrayal, the rumors, the fake dating not turned real, Seraphina's arrival, I had completely forgotten it even existed. And now it was days away.
Lucien smirked at my dreadful expression, as his lips stretched in that sexy smirk that has every girl swooning for him, clearly reading my horror. “Relax, scholarship girl. You already have the best date in the room.”
I opened my mouth to argue, to tell him I didn't feel like attending, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Removing it from my pocket, the unknown number stared back at me, sending a wave of confusion through me. Without thinking, I answered the call and moved, stepping out of Lucien’s grip.
"Hello?" I said, placing the phone to my ear.
“Sloane?" The voice on the other end said," It’s Mariann Hospital. Your mother… she’s gone. She escaped earlier this morning.”
The words detonated a bomb inside me, and my knees went weak. The edges of the hallway blurred, as the image of my mother, the last time I'd seen her, flashed in my mind. She was an unstable and unmanageable woman, especially when she wasn't on her medication.
Lucien arrived by my side in an instant and caught me before I stumbled, locking his arm around my waist. “What happened?” He said, his voice sharp and deadly as his worried eyes brushed my face.
I couldn’t get the words out, as my tongue locked in my mouth due to the panic coursing through me.
And of course, that was when Roxanne chose to appear, flanked by her entourage. I saw her from the corner of my eye; her smirk dripped with venom as she walked past.
“Well, well. Looks like the little charity case is falling apart again. Seriously, Sloane, are you that pathetic?” She tilted her head as her face contorted with false pity. “What is it this time? Daddy's too broke to afford a prom dress as last year's?
I gripped Lucien’s sleeve, willing myself to stay silent, as I tried not to think about my mother and what she would do without the doctors restraining her.
But before Lucien could respond to her, a voice cut through the air.
It was Seraphina.
She stepped forward, her hands folded as she walked past; "Careful, darling." She said, staring at Roxanne with sharp eyes, "You wouldn't want anyone knowing Daddy lost millions last night. I mean. Isn't the jewelry you have on right now, Samantha's?"
Roxanne blinked, startled by her.
I stood frozen, caught between the chaos unraveling inside me, the threat of my mother’s escape, and the shocking realization that Lucien’s fiancée had just defended me more ruthlessly than I ever could.
The world tilted sideways, as everything around me grew dark.
All I heard was Lucien's panicked voice as I fell into him, embracing the darkness.