CHAPTER 2
At dinner, Ana and Chloe sat directly across from one another. When Chloe raised her glass to take a sip, Ana raised hers—not in an open toast for the table, but in a quiet, entirely private gesture that only deepened the invisible thread between them.
Every word Chloe spoke, every move she made received an answer from Ana that was impossible to miss. The pull grew so strong inside Chloe that she needed an excuse to step away.
When she retreated to the stone balcony for a breath of fresh air, the door behind her opened shortly after. Ana stepped into the cool air, moving with smooth, calculated grace.
“Feeling hot?” Ana asked.
Her voice was low, laced with a subtle amusement, while her eyes remained entirely sharp and analytical.
“A little,” Chloe lied.
“Rachel tells me you’re very dedicated to your studies,” Ana said, letting out a deliberate, almost cruel pause, as if picking her words with exquisite care. “And that you haven’t had a serious relationship yet.”
Chloe’s heart ignited in an instant. She fixed her gaze straight ahead, toward the illuminated estate grounds. “That’s not entirely true...”
“It’s no disgrace,” Ana cut her off. Her voice softened, yet retained an unyielding gravity. “It’s just rare. At your age. And with a face like that.”
Chloe stood frozen. Having Rachel’s mom focus so intently on her was jarring, yet wildly intoxicating.
Chloe scrambled for a witty comeback, but Ana’s intense presence rendered her completely blank.
Rachel’s mother was beautiful in a sharp, dangerous way that drove Chloe into an uncontrollable curiosity. She wanted to study that face and get to the bottom of it. What the hell is it about her?
“I do have some experience, but—” Chloe defended herself.
“But?” Ana interjected, as if knowing that this but had no happy ending.
“I’m still young, I have plenty of time.”
“All the time in the world won’t help if you’re looking in the wrong place, little one,” Ana said, her body shifting an imperceptible inch closer to Chloe. Just enough for her soft aura to brush against Chloe.
Chloe froze, her fingers went numb, and her knees melted into jelly.
Sensing her sudden vulnerability, Ana slipped back inside. Chloe was left alone on the balcony, unsure if Ana’s exit was a moment of mercy. She took deep breaths of the cool night air, but the heat on her skin refused to fade.