Chapter 60 Chapter Fifty-nine
ARA
Ethan’s voice kept crawling under my skin long after the last plate was cleared, long after the helicopter lifted us back into the night sky, long after Thayne carried me to bed and fucked the tremor out of my body like he could erase every place Ethan had touched.
It didn’t work. The sex had been intense and beautiful and wild, but I couldn't forget the things Ethan had said.
I still heard him, his slippery voice.
‘We’d be perfect together.’
‘Your sisters will never want for anything again.’
‘I want you.’
Every time I closed my eyes I felt his clammy hands, smelled his sour breath, saw that animal smile while Ursula stood three feet away pretending to be his future wife.
Why say those words at all?
Mr. Slade Senior had paraded them in front of the entire city and we had all watched them kiss like animals.
The engagement was the headline on every gossip site by the time we landed back home.
TikTok, Instagram and Twitter were already calling them The Power Couple.
So why risk everything to whisper that poison in my ear?
My stomach turned to ice when the truth finally clicked into place.
Ethan didn’t want Ursula.
He didn’t even want the ring or the empire.
He wanted to hurt Thayne by taking me.
I sat up in the dark bedroom, sheets tangled around my ankles, heart racing like I was still on that dance floor.
If Ethan truly wanted to marry me, he could ruin everything Thayne had fought for.
He could say I came to him.
He could even say that I begged him to save my sisters.
He could say I was the one who whispered that I was tired of being Thayne’s prisoner.
All he needed was one photo of us together, one blurry clip of me in his arms, and the world would believe I chose the “real heir” over the bastard.
The perfect revenge.
I pressed my knees to my chest, trying to breathe past the panic.
I could feel it already, the way the city would turn on me in a heartbeat.
They’d call me a gold-digger who played both brothers.
They’d say I never truly loved Thayne, that I was just another girl who climbed the ladder on her back.
And Thayne would have to watch the woman he kidnapped, the woman he forced to wear his ring, choose his brother.
It would kill him.
I pressed my palms to my eyes until I saw stars.
I couldn’t breathe.
I was shaking.
I couldn’t stop shaking.
Because the worst part, the part that made me want to scream into the dark, was that tiny, traitorous voice in the back of my head kept asking what if he was right?
What if he could give my sisters the life they deserved?
What if I was the real problem?
I was the reason Thayne’s world was on fire.
I was the crack in his armor.
I was the reason his own father wanted him dead.
I was the reason Ethan could win.
I was the reason everything could be ruined.
Several hours later, I was getting ready in front of the mirror for the birthday party of a popular Hollywood filmmaker when the door buzzed once, then twice.
I knew it wasn't Thayne, because that man always walked majestically into the bedroom like a Greek god.
I went to check the door panel to see who it was. It was one of Thayne's escorts.
Wait, had Thayne changed his mind about me following him as his plus one?
It would be for the better if that was the case.
I tapped the button that would enable me to communicate with the escort on the other side of the door.
I was not yet dressed, because Thayne had made a special order to a fashion house himself for my dress tonight.
It was also why I was using the door panel instead of opening the door to receive the package.
“Hello.” I said.
He looked up to gaze into the door’s panel sensors and lifted his arms to reveal a package concealed in a brown box.
“Miss Irvington, a package from Deven and Co. Fashion Home for you.”
Oh. The dress was finally here.
“Please, leave it by the door, I'll get it.” I told him.
“Alright, Miss Irvington.”
There was a small thud, then the sounds of his footsteps as he walked away.
As soon as the footsteps faded out of earshot and I was sure no one would be coming by around the corner, I stepped out and grabbed the box.
I was half naked, and I didn't think Thayne would be impressed if he learned I'd flashed his escorts my half naked body.
Gingerly, I opened the box, and lifted the package out of it. I peeled off the protective layer, then widened my eyes when the dress came loose.
Emerald green.
Deep, vicious, poisonous emerald, the exact shade of money and danger.
The silk looked wet, liquid against my fingers.
The dress carried tiny hidden hooks, a plunging neckline, and a thigh-high slit that promised to show everything and nothing at once.
Thayne’s favourite colour was black.
Always black.
This wasn’t from him.
My pulse hammered as I dug through the wrapping which had been used to package the dress in the box.
I found a card.
On it something was written in a masculine handwriting, sharp and arrogant.
It read:
‘Can’t wait to see you in my favourite colour, princess.’
—E
Ice slid down my spine.
Ethan.
He’d sent the dress.
He wanted me wearing his colour, walking into that party like I already belonged to him.
I stared at the emerald silk pooled in my lap, beautiful and toxic.
And I knew, with sick certainty, that if I put it on, I’d be painting a target on my back bigger than the one already there.
But if I didn’t…
He’d know I’d already accepted.
My fingers shook as I lifted the dress.
The fabric felt like a noose disguised as a gown.
The door buzzed again.
“Miss Irvington, it is nearly time for you and Mr. Thayne to be called on the red carpet. He is waiting at the venue and has instructed us to escort you there.” Sylvester's voice floated through the panel intercom.
“Alright. Give me a moment!” I yelled.
Where was the dress Thayne had ordered for?
There really was no time to start thinking or weighing my choices. I couldn't risk standing Thayne up at the red carpet.
I slipped into the emerald dress, and when I fitted the choker that was sewn together with the dress around my neck, it felt like I was wearing a noose around my neck with my own hands.
This was going to be a disaster, and I was walking right into it.