27 Nineteen
Istretch and turn over. There's a surprising amount of room in the bed. I sit up slowly, flipping my hair out of my face.
“Happy birthday, pretty girl!” Luca stands in front of my bed with so many balloons, part of my brain thinks he should be floating. Along with a cupcake and a candle.
He lets the balloons go, and they tumble up to the ceiling. He flicks a lighter and lights the candle, sitting in front of me.
“Make a wish, birthday girl!” Luca bounces excitedly.
I roll my eyes at him, but close my eyes and make a wish anyway, then blow out the candle.
“So, what did you wish for?” Luca dips his finger in the frosting then sticks it in his mouth.
“Hey! That's supposed to be for me.” I swipe the cupcake from the plate, “and I can't tell you or it won't come true.” I smirk and bite into the cupcake.
“Lame.” Luca winks and lies back, watching me eat. “What do you want to do today?”
I hum. I honestly didn't even realize what day it was. Everything had been such a blur with recovery and getting back home to Ashthorne Hall. I technically passed the semester thanks to Maeve, but I still feel stuck.
“I really don't know. I kind of forgot about my birthday.” I finish the cupcake.
“It's nice out, maybe we can enjoy the day next to the pool?” Luca offers.
“That sounds nice. Let me get ready, and we'll head downstairs for some proper breakfast first.” I start to roll out of bed.
“Wait, I want to give you your birthday gift first.” Luca smiles goofily. He hands over a medium-sized box wrapped with glitter wrapping paper.
“You didn't have to get me anything.”
“Just open it.” He grins mischievously.
I unwrap the present and open the box, inside I pull out a t-shirt with a shirtless Luca sprawled across the front. I laugh.
“You gifted me a shirt with a half-naked you on it?” I fall back against my pillows with laughter.
He pulls me back up, chuckling to himself.
“Thought maybe you could wear it to bed and know that I'm looking out for you.” He winks and I roll my eyes.
“You're ridiculous, but thank you. That laugh was just what I needed.” I wipe my eyes and smile at him.
“Alright, get ready, and I'll meet you downstairs.” Luca hops up, blowing me a kiss and leaving my room.
I quickly change into some shorts and throw on a random t-shirt.
When I open my door, Jace is standing there—fist raised mid-knock.
His eyes widen, sweeping over me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask flatly.
“I, um—” Jace clears his throat, visibly scrambling. “I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
I blink. “Thanks.”
I move to step around him.
“Wait, Isobel—” He reaches out and catches my wrist.
“No.” I yank my arm back like his touch scalded me. “Don’t touch me.”
Jace’s hand drops immediately, fingers curling in slow defeat. “Can we please talk? I just need to explain.”
“I don’t need an explanation, Jace. I don’t even want your apology.” My breath shakes with the force of it. “There is nothing you can say that excuses what I had to endure in that place.”
“I was trying to protect you!” He steps closer, desperate.
“Well, you did a shitty job.” His flinch is immediate.
“You don’t know what I had to do to keep you safe,” Jace says quietly, voice rough.
“Oh, I know exactly what you did.” Anger spikes through my chest, sharp and consuming. “You let them touch me.” My voice cracks. I swallow it down. “I couldn’t cover myself, I couldn’t fight back, and you just let them.”
Jace looks gutted, taking a step back, running both hands through his hair.
“No, I kept them from raping you.” His voice is shredded. “My dad wouldn’t have cared what they did. But I told his men he had strict instructions—you were off-limits. They could only touch. They couldn’t take you like the others.”
“Others?” My voice is a whisper, strangled with horror. “Who are you?”
I take a step back. His face breaks—pain, shame, and something broken flickering through—before that cold Ravencourt mask slides over everything again.
“That was my father,” Jace grinds out. “Not me. I only learned about it during my infiltration.” His jaw flexes. “I was trying to dismantle his empire from the inside. To make sure no one could replace him. Especially not Daniel. I needed to end everything so he could never come after you again.”
“I love you, Isobel,” he says, voice cracking. “Everything I did…I just wanted to protect you.”
I stare at him, numb. “You say you love me, but you have a funny way of showing it.”
The words should shock me. But I can’t. I turn to head downstairs, but pause.
“I know you’re living here because you have nowhere else to go,” I say quietly, “but just so we’re clear… I can’t trust you. I can’t love someone who could betray me that easily.”
“But I didn’t betray you!” Jace steps forward, frantic. Panic clear in his voice.
I don’t turn around. I don’t dare.
“You did, Jace.” My voice trembles but I push on. “You betrayed me the second you decided to do this alone. The second you decided I didn’t deserve the truth. That we didn’t deserve it.” I swallow.
“If you really loved me—if you really loved any of us—you would have trusted us enough to talk to us.”
And with my heart in my throat, I walk away.
I'm on a lounger by the pool, lying on a fluffy towel Maeve bought specifically because she said that birthdays deserve plush things.
She's on the lounger beside mine, oversized sunglasses sit on her nose, shading her eyes. Every so often, she reaches over and absently fixes the corner of my towel or just touches my arm, like she's making sure I stay present with her.
Luca and Noah are in the pool, arguing loudly about who the faster swimmer is. Luca claims he's “grace incarnate”. While Noah argues he swims like a caffeinated golden retriever. They're both right, in a way. Water splashes, sunlight flashes, and I smile at them.
“So…” Maeve turns her head to glance at me. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“About what?” I ask innocently.
“You know what. The elephant in the room. Or I guess in this case, the raven in the court.”
I groan and fling an arm over my eyes.
“Do we have to?” I know I'm whining like a petulant child.
“Uh, duh. That's what best friends are for. Figuring out shit together.” Maeve sits up and reaches over, poking my arm.
“How are you feeling about him being here and everything?”
“I get why Lucian let him stay here. After burning the bridge with Gideon, it's not like he can go home.” I let my arms flop back down beside me dramatically while I stare up at the sky.
“Right, I hear you there. But how do you feel about it?”
I hum, chewing on my bottom lip.
“I ran into him outside my room before breakfast.”
Maeve jolts up, her sunglasses sliding down her nose.
“Is that why you were all quiet and broody?”
“I was…in my head,” I admit. “But I wasn't expecting to be ambushed by him the moment I stepped out of my room.”
“So, what did he say?” Maeve asks, raising an eyebrow.
“He said he wanted to explain. He told me he loved me and that he was protecting me. He doesn't see his actions as a betrayal.” My heart breaks thinking about it.
“What a douche canoe,” Maeve says before taking a sip of her drink.
“It sucks because…” I take in a deep breath, holding the tears back. “Because I was falling for him.” My voice is small.
“Do you still have feelings?”
I stare up at the blue sky, watching clouds move slowly.
“I don't know,” I say as I sit up, dropping my head in my hands, “I'm just so hurt, you know?
I feel like if I didn't care it wouldn't hurt so bad.
I'm so furious with his actions I can barely stand to look at him.
But at the same time, I think a small part of me does still have feelings.
And that's hard for me to process.” The confessions spill out of me, surprising us both.
“I guess I can understand where you're coming from.” Maeve picks at her towel. “Do you think you can ever move past this and get back with him?”
I forcefully blow air out from between my lips,
“Your guess is as good as mine, sister.”
“I guess only time will tell.” Maeve shrugs, sliding her glasses back onto her face.
We spend the rest of the day relaxing and lounging. We have dinner together with Lucian, Savvy, Max, and Preston and then go watch a movie in the theater room.
I think my conversation with Jace struck a nerve because I don't see him for the rest of the day. Not even in passing.
My heart aches, but I’m also slightly relieved.
After I told Luca about Jace’s unexpected visit, he refused to leave my side. I appreciate how angry Luca is on my behalf, but I feel bad. Because Luca and Jace were like brothers. They had each other's backs until I came along. And now Luca won't even talk to him.
I guess I can’t really say anything because I'm not talking to him either.
Luca stretches out on the couch in my room, patting his side with a wink.
“Come to daddy.”
“Ew.” I laugh, “Only if you promise to never say anything like that to me again.”
“Pinky swear, cross my heart, and hope to die.” Luca makes an X over his heart while clearly crossing his fingers.
“No hoping to die, please.” I roll my eyes and sit next to him.
His arm wraps around my shoulders, warm and easy, and something inside me unclenches. I lean in before I can think too hard about it.
“Luca?”
He hums as he traces lazy circles up and down my arm.
“How are you feeling about everything?”
His body tenses under my cheek. The change so instant, I question if I imagined it. I lift my head and sneak a peek at him. He's staring ahead, eyes hard, jaw clenched.
“We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to,” I say quickly, starting to pull back.
“No.” He stops me gently. “It's not that. It's just…” he exhales. “I'm angry.”
“At who?”
“Jace.” A muscle jumps in his jaw. “The whole situation.” His voice lowers. “Most of all, myself.”
My forehead crinkles as I sit up straighter. “What? Why would you be mad at yourself?”
Luca turns toward me fully, like he needs me to see every piece of what he’s about to say. “Because I let it happen.”
“Luca—”
“Isobel, please, let me finish.”
I nod.