As I followed the butler down the long hallway toward Jeffrey’s study, my heart wouldn’t slow down. Each step felt heavier than the last, like I was walking into judgnt. The polished floor reflected the lights above, too clean, too quiet. It reminded of those walks back in school being called out of class, knowing you were in trouble, knowing there was no escape once you reached that door.
My instincts were screaming at to turn around.
Lewis walked beside , calm and steady. His pace never changed. His breathing was even. If he felt any pressure at all, it didn’t show. It was like the tension in the air bent around him instead of touching him.
I envied that.
When we reached the study, the butler opened the door without a word. He entered first, placed a tray of tea and neatly arranged snacks on the coffee table, then left just as quietly. The door closed with a soft click that echoed far too loudly in my ears.
Jeffrey was already there.
He sat straight-backed in his chair, hands resting calmly, eyes sharp and unreadable. Just one look from him made my spine stiffen. He lifted his chin slightly and pointed at the sofa.
"Sit."
My feet refused to move.
"It’s okay," I said quickly, forcing a smile that felt glued to my face. "I’m fine standing."
His gaze lingered on . It wasn’t loud or aggressive but it pressed down all the sa, heavy and absolute.
"You’ve already done it," he said evenly. "So what’s the point of acting nervous now?"
My throat went dry.
He hadn’t raised his voice, yet the room felt smaller, tighter. The air felt thick, like before a storm. I suddenly understood why everyone lowered their head around him. Authority wasn’t sothing he tried to show it simply existed.
And then it hit .
Lewis and Jeffrey carried the sa presence. Different, but rooted in the sa place. The kind that made others instinctively obey before thinking twice.
No wonder I had always feared Jeffrey.
I turned slightly toward Lewis, panic creeping into my chest. I didn’t say anything, but my eyes begged him to speak. To help. To soften this.
Lewis noticed. Instead of stepping in, he gave a faint, relaxed smile.
"Go ahead and sit," he said, as if this were nothing.
I stared at him.
That was it?
Then, completely out of place, he added, "You should try the fruit tea. It’s light. Not too sweet. Goes well with the snacks."
I tugged lightly at his sleeve, trying to get his attention. Was he serious? Read the room!
He continued calmly, "If you don’t like it, we can ask for sothing else."
I had no choice but to cut in before my nerves snapped.
"Jeffrey," I said quickly, my voice tight, "if you have sothing to say, please just say it. The silence is... it’s making really nervous."
For a mont, he didn’t respond.
Then suddenly Bang.
He slamd his teacup down on the table. Tea splashed over the rim, spilling onto the saucer and the polished wood.
"You’re nervous?" he snapped. "You didn’t look nervous when you went ahead and did whatever you pleased!"
My body reacted before my mind did. I stepped forward, reaching for a napkin.
"I’m sorry, I’ll clean "
Before I could finish, Lewis’s hand closed around my arm, firm but gentle. He pulled back without looking away from Jeffrey.
"Don’t," he said quietly.
I froze.
"Leave it," Lewis said calmly. "Soone else will handle it later."
His hand was still wrapped around my arm. Not tight. Just firm enough to remind where I belonged. Behind him. Safe.
Then he looked up at Jeffrey.
"Please don’t frighten her like that," Lewis said evenly. His voice didn’t rise, but it carried weight. The kind that made the room listen. "She’s not used to this sort of confrontation. If you’re angry, aim it at . I made the call. Whatever consequences co with it, they’re mine."
The air shifted.
Jeffrey let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Since when did you beco so protective of a woman?" he scoffed. "Do you have any idea what kind of ss you’ve created for this family? And now Camilla is carrying a Hale child, yet you two "
He stopped himself mid-sentence, jaw tight, eyes burning. The rest didn’t need to be said. I could feel it in the way the room pressed in on .
Reputation. Authority. Bloodline.
Those were the things that mattered to n like Jeffrey. The pack na ca first. Always.
But Lewis didn’t bend.
He calmly picked up a fresh teacup, steam curling past his fingers, and took a slow sip. Not rushed. Not defensive. Just steady.
"You were there," he said quietly. "You saw what happened. They moved first. Their intentions were never clean. What did you expect to do? Sit back and let them disrespect my mate?"
His tone hardened just a little.
"If I hadn’t stepped in, they would’ve taken it as permission. As weakness."
He never said we.
He didn’t once try to shift bla onto . He stood alone, shoulders squared, drawing the heat to himself without hesitation.
I looked at him, really looked at him, and my chest tightened.
It was hard to believe he and Julian shared the sa blood.
Lewis wasn’t cold. He wasn’t heartless. He understood responsibility not as a burden, but as a choice. And when the mont ca, he placed himself directly between and danger without thinking twice.
In my past life, I had been blad again and again. Accused. Whispered about. Torn apart.
No one had ever stood up for .
Not once.
Before our bond was even sealed, Lewis had offered a way out. He told the truth that Julian didn’t love , that staying would only hurt.
He had said we could end it before it began.
"I won’t force you to stay," he’d told back then. "If you want to leave all of this behind, say the word. I’ll take you away."
But I had been blinded by anger. By pride. By revenge.
I refused him.
Now I wondered if I had taken his hand back then, would everything have changed? Would I still have t such a cruel end?
Maybe fate had decided to be rciful.
Maybe this life was my second chance.
Standing beside him now, feeling his presence steady and unyielding, I realized sothing painfully clear.
He would face the entire world if it ant keeping safe.
That thought settled deep inside my chest, warm and frightening all at once.
Jeffrey seed to realize Lewis wasn’t backing down. After a long mont, he looked away and changed tactics.
"So," he said coldly, "when did you install so many caras around the Hale estate? Since when did this place beco yours to watch as you please?"
My heart skipped.
That question had crossed my mind too.
When had the house beco so tightly guarded?
The mont Jeffrey ntioned the caras, sothing in Lewis shifted.
The calm vanished.
His gaze darkened, sharp and dangerous, like a blade pulled halfway from its sheath.
"If I had done it sooner," he said quietly, each word heavy, "she wouldn’t have died the way she did."
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