Hezekiah ascended the stairs to Quinn’s chambers, his step resolute, yet upon his arrival, he found the room empty. Perplexed as to Quinn’s whereabouts, he turned to depart, only to be halted by a peculiar sensation, his gaze instinctively drawn to the balcony.
With cautious intent, he approached the door leading outside and pushed it open. "Did soone find themselves longing for ?" Asked Quinn’s annoying voice. Hezekiah turned sharply, finding Quinn seating nonchalantly upon the railings, a smoking pipe perfectly balanced in his hand.
"Perhaps, the sentint applies equally to yourself," Hezekiah retorted, his words bearing a veiled aning that Quinn understood all too well. It was plain that Hezekiah sought to address the matter of Belle, a confrontation Quinn had both anticipated and welcod.
"Shall we begin with a blow to my abdon this ti?" Quinn mocked, exhaling a wisp of smoke with feigned indifference.
"I have no need to strike you," Hezekiah replied evenly. "The spectacle of you sneaking about, vying for her attention, is tornt enough. But mark my words and keep your hands from her. In a matter of days, she shall be mine in truth, sealed by my mark. Consider this your warning."
"And if I decline?" Quinn countered, taking another deliberate drag from his pipe.
"You will stand as a rebel before all," Hezekiah replied, his tone carefully asured. Yet inwardly, he struggled with the sting of betrayal. How could his closest friend defy him so brazenly? He had long known Quinn’s pride and recklessness, but this? This was intolerable.
"Threats are wasted breath upon ," Quinn said with a smirk, extinguishing his pipe as he descended from the railing. His hands slid into his pockets as he added, "I am rely upholding my part of the deal. Tell , what sin lies in touching that which is already mine?"
"Yours?" Hezekiah repeated with disdain. "You could not accept the consequences of your own mistakes, and where did that bring you? Back to her,"
"She was always mine," Quinn said, his tone suddenly sharp. "And I have never renounced her as my mate."
Hezekiah’s brows furrowed in disbelief. "You have not rejected her?" He asked, his voice edged with shock. Belle had concealed this from him, but why would she keep such a significant truth hidden?
"What? She failed to ntion it?" Quinn sneered, reveling in the mont. "How utterly laughable. You thought her wholly yours, yet she conceals her true bond from you."
"I shall confirm this myself," Hezekiah declared, unwilling to trust Quinn’s word alone. With determined strides, he moved toward the exit.
"There can be no dual claim upon a woman unless one bond is forsaken," Quinn called after him, his voice laden with triumph. He smirked as Hezekiah disappeared from view, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. The ga was unfolding exactly as he had hoped. Victory, he felt, was well within his grasp. Belle would soon know to whom she truly belonged, and that she could never escape him.
Ignoring Quinn entirely, Hezekiah quickened his stride, exiting the room with purposeful steps. His initial thought was to go directly to Belle’s chambers, but he paused, recalling the lateness of the hour. It would be wiser, he reasoned, to address the matter at dawn.
"I truly hope not, Belle," he murmured to himself, casting a glance down the corridor that led to her quarters before turning on his heel and retreating to his own.
---
The following morning...
The household gathered around the grand dining table, the only sounds punctuating the silence being the soft clinking of forks and spoons against porcelain. Hezekiah sat brooding, his mood dark and palpable. Belle noticed it imdiately. Since his arrival at the table, a shadow had hung over him, and she prayed silently that Quinn was not the source of his displeasure.
Quinn, on the other hand, was a picture of clear satisfaction. Dressed elegantly and radiating an air of triumph, he looked as though he had just secured so grand victory. What mischief was he scheming this ti?
Belle sighed inwardly and returned her focus to her al, scooping up a spoonful of soup. But before she could swallow, she froze, the sensation of sothing tickling her leg catching her off guard. Startled, she spat out the soup.
"Are you quite alright?" Mia, seated beside her, asked with concern, offering a tissue.
"Ah, yes. Thank you. I was rely... distracted," Belle replied, accepting the tissue with a sheepish smile. She wiped her mouth and dismissed the feeling as her imagination. But as she brought another spoonful to her lips, the sensation returned, stronger this ti and unmistakably deliberate.
"Are you certain all is well?" Maddie inquired, her voice tinged with worry as she observed Belle’s unease.
"Yes, yes, I am fine," Belle insisted, forcing a smile. But her composure faltered when her eyes inadvertently locked with Quinn’s. His gaze, smoldering with audacity, sent her pulse racing. Suspicion took root in her mind. She raised her leg beneath the table, and it collided directly with another...Quinn’s. Her suspicions were confird.
"Is there sothing on my face, Belle?" Quinn inquired smoothly, his lips curling into a maddeningly smug smile.
Feigning nonchalance, Belle replied, "rely a botherso bug I was watching out for." Her smile was tight, her fingers gripping the spoon so firmly that her knuckles whitened.
"Ah, yes, bugs can be a terrible nuisance," he said lightly, returning to his al.
Belle dared to hope the ordeal had ended, but monts later, the tornt resud. Quinn’s foot slid against her leg once more, this ti with greater insistence, stoking a fire she desperately tried to calm. Her brows knit together as she glanced at him again, a silent warning flashing in her eyes.
Unbothered, he pursued her leg wherever she moved it, his boldness escalating. Belle felt her composure unraveling, the teasing strokes sending an unwanted heat coursing through her.
Unable to endure it any longer, she abruptly stood, the chair scraping against the floor. "I...I believe I must excuse myself," she announced, her voice a touch breathless. "It seems my legs are in urgent need of attention."
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