Chapter 53
I watched her take it all in. The estate, the gardens, the stone walls that had stood for over a century. Her head was tilted back, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open. She looked like a child seeing an amusement park for the first time. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"Welcome home." I said.
She turned to look at me. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed from the wind. The sunflowers on her dress seemed to glow in the afternoon light.
"This is yours?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question.
"It's my family's."
"This! is yours!" she repeated, like she needed to say it again to believe it.
I opened the car door and offered my hand. She took it, her fingers warm in mine, and I helped her out. She stood there for a moment, just looking at the estate, and I let her.
"The stables are that way..." I said, nodding toward the path that led around the side of the house. "The gardens are behind the main building. And the library has a fireplace that's been lit every winter for a hundred years."
She turned to look at me. "You grew up here?"
"Yes."
"In a castle."
I almost smiled. "Something like that."
She looked back at the estate, her expression unreadable. Then she said, "Show me."
I intertwined my fingers with hers and walked inside.
The front hall was grand, with a sweeping staircase and a chandelier that had been there since my grandfather's time. She walked slowly, her footsteps echoing on the marble floor, her head tilted back to take in the ceiling.
"Do you have a butler?" she asked.
I blinked. "What?"
"A butler. Does he have a British accent?"
"No."
"Disappointing."
I laughed before I could stop myself. She was ridiculous. She was wonderful.
I showed her the library first, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves and the fireplace that had been lit for a hundred years. She ran her fingers along the spines of the books, her lips moving silently as she read the titles.
"These are real.." she said.
"Were you expecting fake books?"
"Some people have fake books. For decoration."
"I have real books. For reading."
She looked at me, a small smile playing on her lips. "You read?"
"Mafias also read."
"Do they?" she asked in a coy tone.
"Uh-huh," I replied in the same way.
"Uh-huh~" she repeated in a sing-song tone.
The portrait gallery was next. I didn't plan to take her there, but she saw the door and asked what was behind it, and I couldn't say no to her.
The hallway was long, lined with paintings of my ancestors. Valerius after Valerius, staring down from gilded frames with stern expressions and dark eyes. Elera walked slowly, studying each face, her footsteps soft on the wooden floor.
She stopped in front of one. It was a family portrait.
My parents, Seraphina, and me. We were young then, maybe ten, our faces still round with childhood.
My mother was smiling. My father's hand rested on her shoulder.
Seraphina was making a face at the painter, and I was looking at her like she was the most annoying person in the world.
Elera leaned closer. She studied Seraphina's face, then mine, then my parents.
She pointed at the girl with the mischievous grin. "That's Seraphina."
I blinked. "How do you know?"
She bit her lip, a guilty smile creeping across her face. "She came to visit me."
"She what?" I shook my head, trying to process. "When did she- she came to your apartment? How did Mark let her go?"
"She said she wanted to meet me."
"And what did she say?"
Elera's smile widened. "That's a girl's secret."
"Elera."
"I am."
I stared at her. She stared back, unblinking, utterly unafraid. My sister had ambushed her. My sister had probably said a hundred embarrassing things about me. And now she was standing there, holding this secret over my head like a weapon.
"You're not going to tell me," I said.
"Nope."
"What did she say? Was it about the puppy? She told you about the puppy, didn't she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
There was a full minute of silence as we stared at each other. Then she smiled, and I knew I wasn't going to win this one.
"How did Mark let her come alone?" I muttered.
Elera perked up. "Mark?"
"Her husband." I shook my head. "He's usually glued to her side. Doesn't trust her out of his sight. Not that I blame him. She's a menace."
I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms.
"He's a doctor. A good one. The kind with morals and principles and all that nonsense. Seraphina got injured on a job once, nothing serious, just a scratch, but she didn't want to go to our family doctor because he would've snitched to me. So she went to this small clinic instead, and there he was."
Elera's eyes lit up. "Love at first sight?"
"Not even close." I almost smiled at the memory. "He took one look at her, figured out she was mafia, and went cold. Completely professional, but cold. He didn't like her. Didn't like what she stood for. But he treated her anyway because he was a doctor and he had principles."
"He sounds like a good man."
"He is. His patients are mostly old or poor. He treats them for almost nothing. But Seraphina? She kept getting injured on jobs just to have an excuse to see him. She called it 'intrigue' at first. Said he was the only man who wasn't impressed or scared of her. She fell first, and she fell hard."
Elera's eyes sparkled. "That's actually sweet."
I looked at her, deadpan. "It's not sweet. It's chaos. He's a hostage in his own home."
"Why is he still with her?"
I shrugged. "The same reason she got him to marry her in the first place. Because he loves her."
"How did she convince him?"
"She didn't convince him." I said. "She kidnapped him."
Elera's mouth fell open. "She what?"
"Not literally. Not with ropes or anything. She just refused to let him leave."
I smiled at the memory. "She showed up at his clinic one day, told him she had decided he was going to marry her, and that he could either walk down the aisle willingly or she would drag him there. He told her she was insane. She agreed. And then she refused to leave until he said yes."
"She forced him to marry her?"
"He's never admitted it. But yes. She absolutely forced him to marry her."
I shook my head, remembering the way Mark had looked at her on their wedding day.
Terrified, exasperated, yet completely, utterly in love.
"And now he's the one who won't let her out of his sight. She complains about it constantly, calls him a mother hen. But I think she loves it."
Elera was quiet for a moment, processing. Then she said, "Karma."
"Karma," I agreed. "She spent years chasing him, and now he spends every moment making sure she's safe. She can't even sneeze without him appearing with a tissue and a thermometer."
"How did she even sneak past him to visit me?"
I sighed. "The same way she's been sneaking past everyone her whole life. Our guards couldn't stop her when she was a child. Our men couldn't stop her when she was working in the family business. A normal, ethical doctor who has lived a simple life never had a chance."
I paused. "Of course, she snuck under his nose. Come I'll show you stables." I said and walked out of the room.
The stables were at the edge of the estate.
Kai was already waiting at the gate, his nose poked over the top, his eyes fixed on me.
He was the most beautiful horse I had ever owned, black and powerful, his mane like ink.
He had been wild when I first found him, untamable.
I had spent weeks earning his trust, and now he followed me like a shadow.
Elera stopped at the entrance, her eyes going wide. "These are horses."
"You're a very observant person."
She didn't even acknowledge my sarcasm.
"Have you ever ridden?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I've always wanted to, though. It's been on my bucket list since I was a kid."
She was already stepping closer, her hand reaching toward Kai's nose. He backed away, wary of strangers.
"Don't," I said, stepping behind her. "Let me."
I moved close to her, my chest pressing against her back, my hand covering hers. She was warm and soft, and she smelled like sunlight. I guided her hand toward Kai's nose, slow and steady.
"He's not used to new people," I said, my lips near her ear. "But he trusts me. If I show him you're safe, he'll trust you too."
Kai sniffed her hand. Then he nudged it with his nose.
Elera gasped softly. Her face broke into a smile, bright and open, the kind that made my chest ache.
"He's beautiful..." she whispered.
Kai preened under the praise, tossing his head and stamping his hoof. He was a show-off. I had trained him too well.
Elera laughed. "He knows he's handsome."
"He does."
I was proud. Proud that I had brought her here. Proud that she was happy. Proud that I had given her something she had always wanted.
She reached up to stroke his nose, her fingers gentle, her expression full of wonder. Then Kai leaned his head down and pressed his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes. She closed hers too, her smile soft and peaceful.
I felt a surge of jealousy. Stupid. It was a horse. A horse I loved. A horse I had raised from a colt. And I was jealous because he was touching her forehead with more tenderness than I had been allowed in weeks.
"That's enough." I said, pulling her back.
She stumbled, caught off balance. "What? Why?"
"You said you wanted to ride," I said, the words coming out rougher than I intended. "Not just pet."
She looked at me with narrowed eyes, but there was a smile tugging at her lips. "Are you jealous of a horse?"
"I'm not jealous."
"Of a horse, Caspian?"
I didn't answer. I was definitely jealous.
She laughed, bright and warm. "Fine. Show me how to ride."
I grabbed the riding clothes I had definitely not prepared in advance. I definitely had not researched exactly what sizes she would need. I definitely had not spent an embarrassing amount of time on Reddit reading about how to make someone comfortable on a horse for their first ride.
"Change into these." I said, handing them to her.
She came out of the changing room in black riding pants and boots, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked confident. Capable. Beautiful.
The riding clothes fit perfectly. Of course they did. I knew her measurements better than she did, and I wasn't ashamed of it at all.
I saddled Kai and helped her mount. She was nervous, her hands gripping the saddle, her legs trembling.
"You look good up there." I said.
"I look terrified."
"You look good." I swung up behind her, my chest pressed against her back, my arms around her to hold the reins. "Relax, I won't let you fall."
She leaned back against me, just slightly.
Kai walked first, then trotted. Elera laughed, the sound bright and surprised.
"I'm riding!" she said. "This isn't how I imagined it, though."
"How did you imagine it?"
"With me in control."
"That seems like a safety hazard."
She elbowed me. It did nothing except make me grin.
I clicked my tongue, and Kai started running faster. The wind whipped through our hair, and she gasped and clutched my arm, and I could feel her heart beating against my chest.
"Too fast?" I asked.
"No!" she said. "It's perfect!"
We rode in silence for a while, the estate sprawling around us, the sun beginning to dip toward the horizon. Her hand found mine, lacing our fingers together. And when she leaned back into my chest, her head resting against my shoulder, she let me hold her like she was exactly where she belonged.
Then I leaned forward, my lips brushing her ear.
"Kitten..." I whispered.
She shivered, her breath hitching. I felt it through her entire body.
".....Yeah?" she said, her voice soft and breathy.
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