[redith].
Eventually, Dennis led us back toward the main house, taking us up the marble steps and into the west wing.
On the first floor, he pushed open a pair of tall glass doors that led to a wide balcony overlooking the lower grounds.
A long seating arrangent waited for us—comfortable cream sofas, low tables, and platters of fruit, pastries, and frosted drinks freshly set by servants.
We all settled in imdiately. Vivian leaned into Levi’s side. Oscar claid a seat with a relieved sigh. Wanda sat next to Vivian with her legs elegantly crossed, her posture immaculate.
Draven took the spot beside ; his hand lightly brushed my lower back before he reached for a drink.
We ate, refreshed, and chatted lightly until I felt the tug of fresh air pulling . So, I stood and walked to the balcony rail.
The breeze was cool, lifting strands of my hair. Below, the estate stretched out in calm, orderly lines of stone paths and forest borders.
For a mont, I let myself breathe. But the soft click of footsteps approaching made my shoulders stiffen.
I didn’t turn. Then, Wanda ca to stand beside . Not too close. Not too far. Just close enough.
Her presence pressed like a blade sheathed in velvet—quiet, elegant, but undeniably sharp.
I kept my eyes forward.
"You are so tense," she murmured lightly. "Relax, redith. I won’t push you over the balcony."
Sothing about her statent riled up, so I turned my head slightly, just enough to et her gaze. She was smiling softly.
"What do you want?" I asked.
Wanda’s eyes t mine. Then, she softened her voice just for . "I underestimated you."
A humourless scoff escaped . "You’re just now realizing that?"
"Oh, no," she said, the corners of her lips curving faintly. "You’ve shown that several tis. Today was simply another reminder."
I nodded, looking back out at the grounds. "Good. I hope you stay updated with the reminders."
"I will," she murmured. "But things just beca interesting."
Sothing cold and prickling ran down my spine. I turned to her fully this ti, my brows narrowing. "And what does that an?"
Her smile deepened—still soft, still outwardly kind, still perfectly wrong.
"It ans," she whispered, "that I have decided you’re an opponent worth my ti." She let the words linger like perfu, then slowly added, "So... I will keep you."
My breath stilled. ’Keep ? As what? A rival? A challenge? A placeholder until she destroyed ?’
Her eyes glimred—not with affection, not with sisterly camaraderie, but with sothing sharp, twisted, and quietly thrilling for her.
Without waiting for my response, Wanda turned, smoothed her tunic, and walked elegantly back toward the others.
She sat beside Vivian as if nothing had happened, accepting a drink from a servant with the calm composure of soone who hadn’t just issued a thinly veiled threat.
I remained by the railing. My heartbeat was steady, but my mind was not. It kept replaying three statents.
’I underestimated you.’ ’You are worth my ti.’ ’I will keep you.’
Instantly, pieces clicked together. Wanda hadn’t softened. She had neither grown nor chosen to surrender her obsession with Draven.
She had simply shifted strategies as I had suspected. She was a more patient predator now—a smiling one, for that matter.
And those last words... "I will keep you."
A chill sliced down my spine as I ca to understand what she ant by that. Wanda had, at so point, intended the opposite. To remove . Erase . Eliminate the ’problem.’
And now? She was adapting, studying and preparing sothing new.
Wanda wasn’t just jealous. She was unhinged in a asured, controlled, terrifying way. Beautiful on the outside, but inside, a fire fed by obsession and delusion.
What new sche will she create?
The only thing I knew for sure was this... Wanda had not given up on Draven, and she never would.
I spent a few monts by myself before returning to my position next to Draven, who naturally placed his hand on my thigh.
---
As the light refreshnts dwindled and the sun slipped lower across the estate grounds, the atmosphere naturally softened.
Conversations quieted, and even Dennis stopped teasing long enough to notice Levi glancing at the ti.
"It’s getting late," Levi finally said, rising from his seat. Vivian followed with a polite nod, smoothing her dress.
Wanda stood last. Her movents were effortless, graceful—every part of her composed in that unsettling new way I had begun to recognize and distrust.
Draven nodded at Levi. "We will walk you out."
Then, everyone followed alongside Draven, leaving the warm balcony behind as we made our way toward the front courtyard.
The cool evening breeze brushed past us, and for a mont, everything felt deceptively peaceful.
A servant already had Levi’s car prepared at the entrance.
Vivian turned first and curtsied to . "Luna redith, it was a pleasure eting you."
I nodded politely. "Safe travels."
Then Wanda stepped forward. The smile she wore was soft, warm... practised. Nothing about it was real.
"Luna redith," she said sweetly, "thank you for today. I hope we can gather like this again."
I kept my expression composed. "Of course," I replied. Though in my head, I never wanted to hang out with her again.
Wanda’s smile sharpened—not visibly, but just enough for to feel it like the edge of a blade pressing against silk. Then she dipped her head and walked to the car as if she hadn’t spent months trying to destroy .
She even looked back and smiled again before getting inside the car.
I almost laughed. I preferred the old Wanda. At least her hatred didn’t wear perfu and pretend to be polite.
Just then, the engine started, and the car rolled down the driveway.
Only then did I breathe out quietly. Though I knew sothing was wrong. Very wrong.
Wanda’s sudden sweetness wasn’t kindness. It wasn’t acceptance. It was pure calculation. And whatever she was planning next... I could feel it tightening like a thread around my ribs.
Wanda hadn’t given up on Draven. And she hadn’t given up on removing .
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