Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Home, sweet home.
The grand entrance of the manor greets me when our estate manager, Elliot, opens the door for Avalon and I.
The man is in his fifties, with a warm smile, and always in his uniform.
In fact, I’ve never seen him working in anything but the uniform, and I’ve known him for as long as I’ve been able to remember people and faces.
“Elliot!” I grin widely, pulling him into a hug.
He laughs, returns the hug, and slowly pats my back. “Ms. Sloane, you’ve grown even more charming than I remember.”
I pull back, still grinning. “Stop sucking up, I know Dad gave you a raise already.”
His shoulders slump. “A man has to try, no?”
A laugh comes from me, and Elliot steps back, allowing Avalon and me to walk into the first area of the manor. Avalon and Elliot are chatting behind me, my heels clicking as I walk.
The scent fills me instantly, and I close my eyes.
Oh, God. I’ve missed the lavender smell that floats through the manor surrounding me.
The white walls are decorated with Renaissance paintings, all of which are the original pieces.
There’s a grand piano in the corner, though it serves as decoration.
I’ve never played, and Sawyer stopped playing years ago.
Since then, it’s been collecting dust, but given how old the piano is, Mom and Dad use it as a bragging chip.
“Ms. Evans, your room is ready. You can go and freshen up.”
“Thank you, Elliot,” Avalon smiles.
Though she’s still a little uncomfortable being catered to, it’s less than it used to be.
The first time she visited me, she was reluctant to even sit in the living room.
She feels a lot like she’s being left out, and although I can’t exactly tear the place down so it wouldn’t look as it does, I did have a long chat with her.
She’s someone I love a lot, and what’s mine is hers, end of story.
“Where are Mom and Dad?” I ask, turning around.
Elliot checks his gold wrist-watch, then his eyes flick back to me. “They’re in a business meeting, they’ll be home for dinner. Your brother will be joining, too.”
A frown etches on my face. “Isn’t he supposed to be in France?”
“He cut the trip short so he could return in time for the party.”
“Very well,” I offer a polite smile. “When you get the chance, can you email me the guest list? I want to see who’s coming.”
“Of course, I’ll do it shortly.”
“Thank you,” I turn to Avalon. “Let’s go freshen up. I’m tired.”
“Do you ladies want some snacks before lunch?”
“Oh, that would be fantastic, Elliot,” I sigh in relief. “Send us something.”
He nods, then walks off toward the kitchen. Avalon and I start walking up the grand staircase, and for some reason, she seems fidgety. She’s avoiding looking at me, and I can’t help rolling my eyes.
“For the record, I didn’t tell Grace. She knew beforehand.”
“I can feel your judgmental stare from a mile away, you know,” she mutters.
“I’m in no position to judge you, Ava,” I pause at the top of the stairs on the third floor.
I look at her for a brief moment, then continue walking toward the part of the manor that’s mine.
It has my grand bedroom, with an en suite bathroom, a bigger living room area, and a smaller guest room, which Avalon will be using during her stay.
“You know I love you, right? Who you’re with is none of my business as long as he’s not abusive, and it’s all consensual. ”
Avalon retreats to the bedroom, and I go into mine. Our belongings are already inside, courtesy of Elliot, and since I have more than enough time before lunch, I only take a quick shower, change into comfortable clothes, and then head into the living room area.
The decor ranges between grey, black, and baby pink shades.
Mom’s favorite interior designer put together this living room, piece by piece.
From the wall color and the details on the curtains, to the smallest decorations, candles on the shelves, and even having someone arrange all of my books in alphabetical order, by genre.
Avalon storms into the living room, hair damp as she slumps into the sofa across from me. “Do you think I’m a slut for being with Colton?”
The question catches me off guard. “What? No. If anything, he’s the slut between the two of you.”
Avalon blinks. “I’m sorry?”
I roll my eyes. “Please, have you not seen the way he dresses, talks, and acts? The man is the definition of a man-whore. But for what it’s worth, I’d never call another woman anything as degrading as a slut.”
“I’m proud of you,” she snorts. “You’ve grown as a person, it seems.”
“To be fair, I’ve never insulted another woman based on her looks, or who she sleeps with. I just insult their intelligence when they’re stupid.”
“When someone has a brain like yours, it’s easy to meet people less smart.”
I shrug.
Elliot comes in, bringing us a tray of fresh fruit, sliced up and put together nicely. There’s a bowl of chips, and some freshly squeezed orange juice. He puts everything on the table in front of us, and after thanking him, I wait until he’s out of the door.
“I just…” I pause, trying to find the words. “I want you to be careful.”
“Careful? Why?”
“You’re twenty-three. He’s forty-four. This relationship will always be imbalanced, and not in your favor, Avalon.”
Her posture almost instantly goes rigid, taking on a defensive posture. “You don’t know—”
“Anything about your relationship, I know,” I finish for her. “I’m saying this out of worry and love for you. Be careful.”
Avalon relents, then nods. “Okay. I mean, I don’t even know where all of this will go.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, not right now,” she sighs. “But, I do want to talk about something.”
I lift a brow. “Oh? Do tell.”
“What I’m about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone.”
The seriousness in her voice causes me to halt when I reach for the apple. Slowly, I nod, taking a bite of the sweet fruit. “I promise.”
“Last night, after sneaking back into our building, I was trying to be careful not to be seen. Well, I saw Lila.”
“Where did you see her? She’s usually asleep by nine.”
Avalon nods. “She was arguing on the phone with someone in one of the hallways. She saw me, and well, then she spilled everything.”
“You’re just keeping me in suspense for the sake of it now.”
“When did you meet Lila, exactly?”
I frown. “Our first year, why?”
“Isn’t it weird?”
“What is?”
“Well, I’m a scholarship student. Everyone else attended Saint Valley High School, at least. Isn’t it weird that you’ve never met her before?”
“Not really,” I shrug. “There are a handful of schools in the US, and a few across Europe.”
“Yes, but she’s also from New York.”
That makes me pause, my brows rising to my hairline. “What? Then it’s impossible for her not to have gone to the same high school as me.”
“Okay, do you remember that scandal from a couple of years ago? About that wealthy family having a troublemaker daughter. She’s had some issues, bullying people, partying, and she was just known to be an awful person?”
A frown appears on my face as I close my eyes, trying to remember. There’s been one too many similar incidents, and I never truly paid attention to those, unless the people are within my own.
“Wait, isn’t that the Astor family? They used to own a chain of banks, and although they’re still in as good standing as they were back then, their reputation never really recovered."
“Yes!”
“So, how does this correlate to Lila? Is she one of the victims, or?”
“She’s the bully!” Avalon hisses, tossing a pillow at me. “Come on, use your brain.”
I catch the pillow, then put it aside. “What? That sweet little angel who goes to church every Sunday is a bully?”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“But, if she’s their daughter, how did she get into Saint Valley? Because not only is the school hella exclusive, but they wouldn’t have allowed her entrance after such a public scandal.”
“Her aunt married the headmaster’s grandson.”
“Ah, when the money speaks, the world is silent.”
“Something like that.”
“But what was about that whole conversation that you overheard? And what did she tell you?”
“Someone found out,” Avalon says, sipping on the orange juice. “And they’re threatening her. Well, blackmailing her. Apparently, they have solid evidence of everything she’s done, and unless she complies with the demands, it will be sent to Sinners and Saints.”
I wince. “Ouch.”
“I know.”
“Does she have any idea who’s blackmailing?”
“Not yet,” Avalon sighs. “I’m really torn. On one hand, she was a terrible person to a lot of innocent people. On the other hand, she seems remorseful.”
“Yeah, but her being remorseful means nothing unless she betters herself. I highly doubt her victims are as forgiving as you are.”
“What do we do?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “Do you think she’ll tell us?”
“Probably not. She’s terrified of what you and Grace will think of her. Besides, she was begging me to believe that she never did any of those things.”
“She claims she never bullied anyone?”
Avalon nods. “You should’ve seen her. She was sobbing, crying, and quite literally falling to her knees. She was fucking shaking like a leaf. I don’t know what to believe?”
“How come no one connected her name to the incident, though? Her family might not run in my family’s circle, but Saint Valley is filled with rich people. Someone there must’ve been in the same room as her, or her parents, before all of this.”
“She changed her clothes style, her looks as much as possible without doing any plastic surgery, and changed her name. No one seems to have noticed it. That’s probably why she’s still keeping to herself mostly.”
“She’ll come for the Christmas party,” I sigh. “I’ll talk to her then, and try to figure out what’s happening.”
◆◆◆
“Sawyer!”