While Jade rushed after Aliana, Gavriel and Cillian stood in the quiet corridor for a few seconds longer.
Suddenly, the shadows flickered, and Reve materialised out of thin air directly before them.
He bowed his head sharply. "Master."
Upon seeing Reve appear, Gavriel demanded, "What is it?"
"Master, I ca as quickly as I could. There were Hellhounds loose around the estate."
"Hellhounds?" Cillian’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he repeated the word, while Gavriel’s expression darkened instantly.
That was when Reve went on to explain everything that had happened in the woods, causing both Gavriel’s and Cillian’s expressions to turn even more grim.
As a heavy silence settled between them, Gavriel finally spoke.
"Find out who was behind all of this. Sothing isn’t right, and whatever their purpose was, it seems they succeeded in distracting both of you."
"But Aliana seems perfectly fine. What could their motive possibly be?" Cillian questioned, trying to piece the puzzle together.
Gavriel’s gaze moved back to the far end of the corridor where the two won had disappeared only monts ago. "I’ll find out."
Even with the visual reassurance that Aliana was unhard and untouched, Gavriel’s inner darkness continued to thrash and stir within him, forcing Cillian and Reve to take a subconscious step back from his volatile energy.
Cillian cleared his throat, murmuring carefully, "You might want to keep your powers in check. They are leaking out into the hallway again."
One look from Gavriel was enough to make Cillian press his lips together and fall silent.
After that, Gavriel had to force himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath, reining in his powers before opening them again.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked back toward the gathering.
Back in the hall, Jade had caught up with Aliana. Leaning close to her as they walked, she asked. "Hey, are you alright?"
Upon hearing the concern in Jade’s voice, Aliana turned to glance at her from the side. "Of course." She paused in her steps, turning fully to face her friend. "Why do you ask?"
Jade studied her features for a mont. When she failed to find anything unusual in Aliana’s expression, she released a soft sigh, shaking her head. "Nothing. I was just worried about the thought of you being alone"
"Oh, you all worry far too much about ," Aliana replied coolly, offering Jade a polite smile.
"Of course we’re going to worry," Jade countered naturally. She then leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a sharp whisper. "By the way, you wouldn’t believe who we saw just a few minutes ago."
"Who?" Aliana asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Rose!" Jade whispered intensely, her wide eyes signalling just how unbelievable this discovery was.
Aliana stared at her for a brief mont before pursing her lips. "Oh... I guess she wandered over here as well. Don’t mind her. Let’s just concentrate on the big day, alright?"
She flashed Jade a reassuring smile before turning and walking away toward Portia, who had just waved her over from across the room.
Jade just stood there, a slightly stunned look freezing her features as she watched Aliana’s retreating back.
That was absolutely not the reaction she had been expecting from Aliana.
Even though Jade had been possessed by Rose’s spirit during the ordeal and hadn’t witnessed the climax firsthand, Nigel had later filled her in on every single detail of how Aliana had freed the woman’s soul.
So how could she possibly brush off Rose’s return so lightly?
It was almost as if it ant nothing to her at all.
As Jade continued watching her friend with a faint crease between her brows, Nigel ca to stand beside her.
"Miss Jade, you’re finally here."
Jade snapped out of her thoughts and turned toward him.
Nigel let out a quiet breath before continuing, "Guests had started asking where Boss was, and with you, Mr. Pierce, and Mr. Valentine disappearing all at once, I was almost on my way to look for all of you."
"She had just stepped out to use the bathroom," Jade replied, sounding slightly distracted.
"Oh, I see." Nigel nodded.
Jade fell silent for a mont before lowering her voice so only Nigel could hear.
"Hey, Nigel. That thing you told happened that morning at Victorian Heights... are you absolutely certain that Aliana freed that spirit then?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Nigel’s face at the sudden question, but he nodded.
"Yes. That’s what Mr. Valentine told us. As you know, he seems to understand more about all of this because he has the sa ability to see them. So yes, that’s what happened."
"Hmm..." Jade humd thoughtfully, her gaze drifting back to Aliana.
Across the room, Aliana moved effortlessly among the guests, carrying herself with the sa grace and confidence as always. Monts later, Gavriel joined her side and naturally slipped an arm around her waist, as though it belonged there.
Jade watched them in silence, and sothing about it continued to bother her.
A small, nagging feeling that refused to leave.
"Is there... a problem?" Nigel asked, studying the thoughtful expression on her face.
Pressing her lips together, Jade lightly shook her head. "No, I was just thinking about... sothing. Never mind . I think I need another drink."
Even though Jade was surprised by Aliana’s dismissive reaction, she didn’t want to overthink things and overcomplicate a situation that already felt incredibly ssy.
Reasoning that the intense stress of the evening was simply making everyone a bit more on edge, she chose to brush the unsettling thought aside for now.
.....
Later that evening, as the event drew to a close, Gavriel left for the Valentine Residence with Aliana after informing her parents of their departure.
There were still many guests lingering around, but he was in absolutely no mood to entertain anyone anymore, especially after the breach of security.
His mind remained in a state of unease.
Even as he stuck by her side, watching her closely while she interacted with the remaining crowd, sothing inside him simply refused to settle the way it normally did when they were together.
A suffocating sense that he was losing precious ti kept gnawing at his chest, making his fingers twitch with the sudden urge to unleash his powers and halt ti altogether.
But he restrained himself.
Strangely, she had stopped evading his touch after he rejoined her at the gala.
Instead, as the evening progressed, he found her leaning into him more and more.
Her touches had beco increasingly lingering, a little too bold... so unlike the Aliana who usually blushed or grew shy whenever he initiated intimacy.
He knew she possessed a bold side to her, but it was an aspect of her that only erged when he actively coaxed it out of her. This sudden forwardness was unexpected, to say the least.
Back in the quiet interior of the car, Gavriel’s gaze drifted away from the window, shifting down to her hand where the ruby ring he had given her rested.
The gem shimred beautifully under the glow of each passing streetlight, yet only he could see the unique, faint aura radiating around the band.
Just as he continued to stare at it, it was then he realised sothing.
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