Chapter 37
Iwoke with a headache pounding behind my eyes, the reminder of another night spent drowning my frustrations in expensive whiskey.
Sunlight cut through the gaps in my curtains like accusatory fingers, pointing out my isolation in a house that had never felt so crowded, or so empty.
Three days. Three fucking days since Cadence had frozen me out completely.
Three days of watching her laugh with Cole, press against Ryder's side, all while treating me like I was invisible.
I dragged myself from bed, ignoring the string of notifications on my phone.
The group chat between Cole, Ryder, and me had once been a source of constant banter and planning.
Now it felt like a battlefield where I was outnumbered two to one.
When Ryder had explained about Cadence’s version of how she had gotten the bruises, I had said that we needed to teach McIntyre a lesson, but even then, Ryder and Cole had vetoed me.
Told me that Cadence begged them not to do anything, that she was scared Damien would report them.
They had agreed, without me. This was a Covenant House matter, yet I was excluded once again.
My jaw clenched as I scrolled past Ryder's message about skipping our shared law class today to "support Cadence at the Courts gala planning meeting.
" Translation: Ryder was ditching our responsibilities to play lapdog to a woman who was systematically tearing us apart.
"Fuck this," I muttered, tossing my phone onto the rumpled sheets.
The hot shower did nothing to wash away the bitterness coating my thoughts.
Every interaction replayed in my mind: Cadence curled against Cole's side on the couch, Ryder's hand possessively resting on her thigh, her laughter, genuine, unguarded, for them.
Never for me. I dressed methodically, armour for the day ahead.
Black shirt, dark jeans. I checked my reflection, noting the shadows under my eyes, the hard set of my mouth.
This wasn't just jealousy. This was survival.
I could feel it in my bones, Cadence was playing us, manipulating Cole and Ryder against me.
And like lovesick puppies, they were falling for it.
The hallway outside my room was mercifully empty.
I couldn't stomach another breakfast watching the three of them orbit each other while I sat on the periphery, barely even an afterthought.
My father's voice echoed in my head as I descended the stairs: Weakness, boy.
You're showing weakness. Take control or lose everything.
I grabbed my keys and leather jacket, stepping into the crisp morning air without bothering to eat.
Food held no appeal; my stomach was a knot of anger and humiliation.
Campus was already bustling as I parked my car.
Students moved in laughing clusters, their normality a stark contrast to the chaos of my thoughts.
I spotted Julia with her usual entourage near the quad, her eyes following me with that calculating gleam I'd grown to despise.
Had she always looked at me that way, or was it new, this mixture of pity and satisfaction?
I pushed through the heavy doors of the law building, my mind already shifting to the lecture ahead.
At least in class, I could lose myself in the academic challenge, in the clean lines of legal precedent and argument. No messy emotions, no betrayal.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Not the group chat this time, but a direct message.
Angus Williams
“Mr Bale. My office. Immediately.”
"Fucking perfect," I growled, earning startled looks from a group of first-years clustered near the classroom entrance.
I pivoted on my heel, frustration bubbling into rage.
What the fuck now? Another complaint about how we were handling Cadence?
Another veiled threat about our standing with the Trivium?
As if I needed more pressure with my father arriving next week and the Christmas Gala looming shortly after.
The walk to the administration building was a blur of resentment.
By the time I reached Williams' office, my mood had darkened to something dangerous, a thundercloud ready to break. I didn't bother knocking.
The first thing I registered was Julia and Hannah’s presence. Julia perched on one of the visitor chairs like she belonged there, her lips curled in a smile that sent ice through my veins. Hannah sat with her head down and wouldn’t meet my eyes.
"Ah, Mr Bale." Headmaster Williams looked up from his desk, his expression grave beneath his usual veneer of academic authority. "Please, close the door behind you." I complied, every instinct on high alert.
"What's this about?" Williams gestured to the empty chair beside Julia.
"Have a seat."
"I'll stand." Julia's smile widened fractionally. She was enjoying this, whatever this was. Williams sighed, steepling his fingers.
"Very well. I've called you here because a serious matter has been brought to my attention regarding your Consort, Miss Turner." My jaw tightened, and I glanced at Julia. What the fuck was this bitch playing at now?.
"And what would that be?" Instead of answering, Williams turned his computer monitor toward me.
"Miss Latters came to me with some... concerning footage that had been brought to her attention.
I believe you should see it for yourself.
" I stepped closer, wary of whatever trap was being laid.
The screen showed grainy security footage of what appeared to be an alleyway, one of the less-travelled passages between the English and Humanities buildings.
Two figures entered the frame. Even in the poor quality, Cadence's purple hair was unmistakable.
And with her, my blood turned to ice, Damien fucking McIntyre.
"What is this?" I demanded, though the evidence was playing out before my eyes.
"Just watch," Julia said, her voice honey-sweet with malice. On screen, Damien backed Cadence against the wall. There was a moment where she seemed to resist, her hands pushing at his chest. Then, my stomach lurched, his hands went to her throat, and they were kissing, passionate and desperate.
"This was taken three days ago," Williams said quietly. “A concerned party in the Archive house pulled this after hearing Mr McIntyre boast about getting the evidence against Covenant House.” My eyes snapped up to Williams.
“What?”
“It appears that Miss Turner was working with Mr McIntyre. Naturally, Hannah brought the incident to Julia’s attention, who encouraged young Hannah to bring the matter straight to me.”
The room tilted sickeningly. I gripped the edge of the desk, my knuckles white.
"It appears," Julia drawled, "that your Consort has also been seeing Damien behind your backs. Rather passionately, I might add. I always knew she was a cheap slut."
"Shut the fuck up," I snapped, unable to tear my eyes from the footage.
Cadence's body language, the way she seemed to melt into Damien's embrace, it was all wrong.
This wasn't the frightened, traumatised woman Ryder had described, the one who claimed Damien had violently assaulted her. This was a lover's meeting.
"Mr Bale," Williams cleared his throat, "I don't need to tell you that this constitutes a severe breach of the Consort contract. Section 12, paragraph 4 explicitly forbids-"
"I know the fucking contract," I cut him off, my voice deadly quiet.
It was all falling into place now, the bruises on Cadence's neck that had appeared too quickly after my brief grip, her reluctance to have us confront Damien, the way she'd been driving wedges between me and the others.
It wasn't just about rejecting me; it was about breaking all of us apart.
Had it all been a lie? Had she been playing us all along, playing the victim, so that we would fall for her?
"The Trivium takes these breaches very seriously," Williams continued, unmoved by my obvious distress. "As you know, the contract stipulates that in cases of infidelity or betrayal, Second Offence Punishment Protocol must be implemented." My head snapped up, cold dread washing through me.
"That's-"
"Necessary," Williams finished firmly. "The alternative would be a dissolution of the contract entirely, which would leave all parties vulnerable.
" The threat was clear. If we didn't punish Cadence according to tradition, we'd lose everything, our standing, our protection, possibly even our places at Regents.
And everything that we had been working towards for the last several fucking years.
"Ladies, thank you for your vigilance. You can go now," Williams commanded suddenly.
Both girls stood up, and Hannah rushed to the door. But Julia paused.
"Of course, Headmaster." As she passed me, she leant in, her voice pitched for my ears alone: "I told you she wasn't worthy of Covenant House."
The door clicked shut behind her, and Williams' demeanour shifted subtly, more businessman than academic now.
"Logan," he said, dropping formality, "I understand this is.
.. difficult. But you must see that Miss Turner has been manipulating you and your fellow Regents.
This footage is just the confirmation of what many have suspected.
" I said nothing, my mind racing through possibilities, searching for an explanation that wouldn't shatter everything I thought I knew about Cadence.
"The Second Offence Punishment Protocol will be implemented tonight," Williams continued. "Bring her to the clearing in Remnant Woods at six pm. All the necessary arrangements will be made."
"And if I refuse?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Williams' expression hardened.
"Then the Trivium will handle it directly.
And I assure you, their methods would be far less considerate to all parties.
" The threat hung between us, heavy and undeniable.
I knew what he was saying. If I didn't deliver Cadence for punishment, someone else would, and there would be no restraint, no mercy.
They would take her from us and take what we had worked for.
She would no longer be the Consort, and she would be in the hands of the very men who we had been trying to protect her from.
For a brief second, I wondered if this was their plan, some form of power play to get Cadence away from us, but then I glanced at Williams' monitor, where the video was playing on a loop, and saw the passionate display between our Consort and that bastard once again.
No, this was her doing, and I would not lose everything I had worked for because of this.
"All houses will be notified, of course," Williams added, almost casually.
"The entire Trivium board will know by morning.
Such is the way with these matters." Public humiliation.
Complete degradation. And all because she couldn't keep her fucking hands off Damien fucking McIntyre.
I nodded once, sharply, not trusting myself to speak.
"6 pm, Mr Bale. Don't be late." I turned and left without another word, the image of Cadence in Damien's arms burned into my retinas like a brand.
The corridor outside Williams' office was blessedly empty.
I made it halfway down the hall before the rage hit me like a physical force, driving my fist into a bulletin board with enough force to crack the wooden frame.
Pain shot up my arm, but I welcomed it, anything to distract from the searing betrayal consuming me from within.
Cadence had lied to all of us. She'd played the victim while secretly meeting her lover, letting us comfort her, protect her, fucking worship her, all while making fools of us behind our backs.
And Ryder, Christ, Ryder had told me how broken up she was about Damien's "attack," how she'd begged him not to go after Damien.
Not because she was afraid of escalation, but because she was protecting her fucking boyfriend.
Had she laughed about it afterward? Curled up with Cole and Ryder while texting Damien under the covers?
Planning her next secret rendezvous while I paced my room, consumed by guilt for hurting her?
I should call Cole and Ryder. They deserved to know what was happening, what Cadence had done.
But the thought of explaining, of seeing the disbelief on their faces, possibly even their defence of her, it was too much.
They were already halfway under her spell.
What if they refused to see the truth, even with evidence?
No. Better to show them tonight. Let them see the proof for themselves, let them stand with me when Cadence finally faced consequences for her actions.
I reached my car and slammed the door shut behind me, the enclosed space amplifying my ragged breathing. For a moment, I just sat there, knuckles white on the steering wheel, trying to regain control.
Weakness, boy. You're showing weakness. My father would arrive next week, expecting a perfect Consort, a united Covenant House.
Instead, he'd find us fractured, humiliated, our Consort exposed as a traitor unless I fixed this.
Unless I took control. Tonight, Cadence would face the consequences of her betrayal.
And tomorrow we would begin rebuilding what she had tried to destroy.
She will learn not to mess with Logan fucking Bale.
I started the car, the engine's growl matching the fury simmering in my veins.
It was time to end this game. Once and for all.