Chapter 142 Chapter 142
Violet
I finished the tea and immediately walked into the main hall with Lady Aurelia's words still echoing in my mind.
After last night, I wasn’t sure if destroying Elijah was nothing. As if I could just flip a switch and make him love me, then casually rip his heart out.
But the threat underneath had been crystal clear. And with the enemies my parents’ pack had thanks to Nate, that was as good as a death sentence.
I wasn’t sure what to call the thing we had. I knew it wasn’t just sex for me but I had no idea what I meant to him.
Was I just his casual obsession or something more?
The man who'd just claimed me, and showed me pleasure I didn't know existed…I was supposed to break his heart and trust.
And worse, I had to make it convincing enough that his viper of a mother actually believed I was going through with her sick plan.
My thoughts were spiraling, panic clawing at my chest, when a high-pitched laugh cut through the air.
"...and I told them, absolutely not. If I'm going to have orchids, they need to be the imported, not some grocery store variety. I mean, really, do they think I'm getting married at a Holiday Inn?"
It was Nicole's overly cheerful voice.
I looked over to see her lounging near the enormous marble fireplace, surrounded by her usual group. Madison and Veronica flanked her like ladies-in-waiting attending a queen, making appropriate appreciative sounds at whatever wedding preparation Nicole was currently obsessing over.
"And the color scheme," Nicole continued, examining her perfect manicure. "I'm thinking cream and champagne with touches of rose gold. Very sophisticated and very me."
"Oh my God, Nicole, that sounds absolutely stunning," Madison gushed, clutching her chest like Nicole had just revealed the cure for cancer instead of describing what sounded like every basic wedding I'd ever seen on Pinterest.
"It really does," Veronica chimed in. "You have such exquisite taste."
I should have turned around before they noticed me. The last thing I needed right now was to deal with Nicole's particular brand of saccharine malice.
But I hesitated a second too long.
Nicole's gaze landed on me, and her perfectly glossed lips curved into a smile that definitely didn't reach her eyes. "Violet! Oh my God, come here!"
Shit.
Every instinct screamed at me to run, but I forced my feet to move forward, pasting on what I hoped was a pleasant expression. "Hey."
"We were just talking about the wedding," Madison said brightly, as if I couldn't have possibly guessed that from the last five minutes of their loud chatter.
"Shocking," I muttered under my breath.
Nicole's eyes sharpened. "What was that?"
"I said, how exciting." I widened my smile, making it as fake as hers.
She studied me for a long moment. There was something calculating in her expression, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.
"You know what?" she said suddenly, her voice taking on an almost friendly tone that immediately put me on guard. "You should totally come to my bachelorette party! This Friday night. It'll be so much fun. Just us girls, letting loose before the big day."
I blinked. Out of all the things I'd expected Nicole to say, that wasn't even on the list.
"Oh, I don't think…"
"I want to come too!"
We all turned to see Cassie striding into the hall, her dark hair swinging behind her. Elijah's sister had a way of commanding attention without even trying, all confidence and barely contained energy.
Nicole's smile tightened almost imperceptibly. "Cassie. Of course. The more the merrier." Her tone suggested the exact opposite, but she recovered quickly. "It'll be a great chance for all of us to bond. You know, as a family."
The word "family" made my stomach twist. Because even if Nicole married Nate, she would not be my family. She would be Cassie’s.
"Perfect! It's settled then." Cassie grinned at me, and there was something mischievous dancing in her eyes. Something that made me nervous. "Friday night will be girls' night out. You're going to love it, Violet."
I wanted to protest, to do literally anything other than spend an evening with Nicole and her cronies. But what could I say? If I was supposed to be integrating myself into Elijah's world and more importantly, if I was supposed to be convincing his mother that I was getting close to him, maybe I needed to play along with these social charades.
Besides, refusing might look suspicious. Like I had something to hide. Like I’d rather be in the manor and accidentally end up in his room and…
"Sure," I heard myself say, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. "Sounds great."
Madison and Veronica exchanged excited glances while Nicole's smile grew wider, more satisfied like a cat that had just cornered a mouse.
Friday arrived far too quickly, like the universe was conspiring against me.
I'd spent the days in between trying to act normal around Elijah, which was increasingly difficult when every time he walked past me and brushed his arm against mine and looked at me with those intense dark eyes, all I could think about was Lady Aurelia's command.
The worst part? I wasn't sure I'd have to try very hard with the first part which made what I had to do eventually so much worse.
"You okay?" Elijah had asked that morning, tilting my chin up to meet his gaze. "You seem distracted."
"Just nervous about tonight," I'd said, which wasn't entirely a lie. "Nicole's bachelorette party."
His jaw had tightened. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."
"It's fine. It'll be fine."
He'd looked at me for a long moment, like he could see right through me, before kissing my forehead. "Call me if you need anything. I mean it, Violet. Anything."
Now, sitting in the back of the hired car with Cassie, Madison, Veronica, and Nicole, I was seriously regretting my decision.
"Oh my God, you guys are going to die when you see this place," Nicole was saying, practically bouncing in her seat. She was wearing a ridiculous white sash that said "Bride-to-Be" in glittery pink letters and a tiny plastic tiara. "It's supposed to be, like, the premier gentlemen's club in the city."
"Gentlemen's club," Veronica giggled. "Such a classy way to say strip club."
"Well, we're classy ladies," Nicole said with a hair flip. "We deserve classy entertainment."
I caught Cassie's eye, and she smirked. She knew something I didn't and I could tell by the way she was trying not to laugh.
When the car pulled up in front of the club, I realized why.
This was the same strip club Cassie had dragged me to months ago, back when I'd been more worried about the Emerald project and failing miserably.
The same club where I'd sat in the darkness, watching a dancer with dark hair and broad shoulders move across the stage, and imagined it was Elijah. I had imagined those hands on my skin, inside me.
Heat crept up my neck at the memory.