Chapter 42
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
Stephan
S crew her.
For the past week, Violet’s returned everything I’ve sent her. Or at least had them sent to Pen’s place.
My so-called aunt’s even chastising me. She seems to take great delight in letting me know Violet’s been rejecting my apologies.
And me?
I think bender is the word. Drinking, gambling…
Shit. Tonight, I’m going to go out, paint the fucking town of Emporia red with a nice little starlet I met and befriended on my last film. She wants the exposure, and I want to show Violet I’m just fine without her.
I’m not, but I’ll pretend to be. I just can’t think of how to get through to her .
“Can you stop pacing, Stephan,” Pen says on the phone screen where I’ve sent the video call.
I eye her with the dislike I save for the battle-ax. “Why’d you call?”
“Darling, you called me. I just texted about the failure of your latest attempt to win your mate back. Who knew diamonds don’t work for some.”
“What the fuck does she want, then? I’ve tried everything.”
“Maybe the unfettered truth and a real apology. Maybe for you to do something actually meaningful.”
“I’m trying .”
“You fucked up.”
I grab the bottle of bourbon and take a deep swallow. I’m fucking aware. And it hurts like I never imagined.
“She wants this bond gone,” I say.
“Do you blame her? Sophine and your father screwed up by not helping you with Cecilia, but things happen. Things out of our control. And Cecilia?—”
“That was me. I killed her. I killed the baby.”
“Oh, my love, that’s bullshit and you know it. You’re simply not that powerful. Life happened. And maybe part of that’s my fault. I should have stopped you when I saw you with her that first time. It was early enough.”
I frown, take another swallow. “You couldn’t.”
“I knew what she was. If you’re that powerful then I should have seen it.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
She offers a sad smile. “Some things are just not meant to be. You know that.”
I’ve had enough. “Violet doesn’t want me anymore. She’s rejected me. And I deserve it because I…I never deserved her. Talk to you later.”
“Stephan—”
I hang up and slump down on my sofa.
I know what happened, and I know I fucked up, and I know that I should have laid it out, bare bones, to Violet from the start.
But I didn’t. And I can’t take that back.
My doorbell rings.
I wipe a hand over my face and get up, traipsing through the monster mansion to the front door. I do have staff. I just sent them on vacation because, in the mood I’m in, I’d probably fire them all otherwise.
I jerk open the door and sudden pain explodes in my face. The bottle of bourbon in my hand falls and smashes as I reel back.
Another punch, this one to the stomach.
“Fuck!”
“You fucking cunt.” Heath hits me again.
I hit the floor.
“Stop.”
This time he kicks, his boot landing in my ribs, and pain blooms in ricocheting waves. He’s fucking bruised them, maybe even cracked a few. Fuck . I scramble away as he goes to kick me again, and I get up and launch myself at him.
We roll, fists flying wildly, but luckily his anger is making him clumsy, and I manage to pin him. “I said stop .”
But Heath isn’t having that. He flips me and hits me again but I block it from connecting with my face.
I throw him off me. “I mean it. Fuck.”
“You’re a piece of shit.” He wipes his mouth, breathing hard.
“I know.”
He just snorts. “My sister has a tender, sweet heart. And you…you fucked it up.”
“I know.”
He blinks, surprised by my admission. “You know?”
I nod. “I fucked up, and I don’t know what to do.”
Heath stares at me for a long time. Then all the fury seems to wash away and he shakes his head. “What have you got to drink in this place?”
With a sigh, I lead him upstairs to the bar. I select another bottle of bourbon and crack it open, pouring generous shots for us both.
He takes a glass from me then sits opposite. “A fine fucking mess, asshole,” he says.
“I take it you know everything.”
“Oh, yes. Your aunt told me what you did, and honestly, I should bury you.”
I should just let him. “The contraceptives won’t hurt her.”
“Contra—” He holds up a hand, eyes narrowing. “What? No one told me that. Oh, let me fucking guess. You either made her take them or gave them to her without her knowing.”
“Something like that.” I take a long pull from my drink.
“Harm comes in all shapes, Ashford. I get why you’d want to do it, but you know you had nothing at all to do with Cecilia, right? It was a freak thing.”
“I got her pregnant.”
“You fucking ass. If you were leading her into a life of crime with high stakes, yeah, your fault. But that?” Heath shakes his head. “It’s like me saying if I’d stopped Dad the day of his accident he’d be alive, and therefore it’s my fault he’s dead.”
He looks down.
“It’s the hardest part, knowing shit happens we have no control over. It’d be better if we did. But that’s false thinking, and you…you fucked up with Violet by trying to control that.”
“She’ll never forgive me.”
“She shouldn’t,” Heath says bluntly. “As of now, the scandal’s been held under wraps, but man…it’s not gonna be for long. There’s a dinner with the Monarch. You need to be there.”
“Fuck that.”
We drink, and he keeps checking his phone. It dawns on me he’s trying to keep an eye on things at home, and I’m guessing Violet’s still at the country estate. Still hiding. Still doing the right thing as much as she can for her family.
“I’ll shoulder the scandal.”
“Or you could, y’know, fix shit.”
“Don’t you think I fucking tried? Violet wants nothing from me. All my gifts and apologies are thrown back at me. I’m just…” I take a deep breath. “I’m just lost. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do.” I breathe out. “I did this not to lose her and I ended up losing her anyway.”
“You’re right.”
“I think…I’m in love with her.”
Heath doesn’t say anything for a while. Then he has a sip and says, “I know. That’s the only reason why you’re still alive. ”
“So what do I do? What grand gesture is grand enough to win her back?”
“There isn’t one. Time? Or maybe you simply missed out.”
“Fuck.”
He stands and sets the glass down. “Did you tell her, Stephan?”
“Tell her what?”
“That you love her.”
“No.”
Because I didn’t believe in it anymore until the princess upended my life.
“Then,” he says, “you’re a fucking fool.”
“Why are you standing?”
“Because, asshole, I didn’t come here to drink with you all evening. I came to bring you back—by the Monarch’s decree.”
“Oh, fuck that.”
Heath grabs me and hauls me up. “This isn’t about you and your beef with the Monarch. It’s about Violet and her reputation. So get ready. We’re leaving in ten.”
The Queen fucking Bee has been busy, buzzing about the lack of me or Violet being seen either on Sabine or in Emporia. But as I read all the Stitches from the Bee and others, it seems my aunt has put out a public announcement about a dinner.
As we land at Pen’s, I’m aware that it’s not just about me. It’s Violet who’s meant to turn up .
“This is as far as I go,” Heath says. “This is supposedly a private dinner with you and Vi and the Monarch.”
“That all of Sabine knows about.”
He sighs and gives me a shove. “Move. I don’t know if my sister will show. The rest is up to you. And if she does, tell her. You at least owe her that.”
The moment I exit, the helicopter takes off, presumably to drop Heath at home.
I make my way in.
Pen is there, not looking happy. “Tried to tell you, but you hung up.”
“You’re working with her?”
“I’m not doing anything. The Monarch insisted. Decreed . She’s in the dining room.”
My princess? I can smell her faintly, but I don’t know if it’s in my head or from the last time she was here or if…
I don’t think. I run into the dining room, only to have hope crash down.
Sophine stands, drink in hand. “You’re late.”
“Where’s Violet?”
“Not here. Just know that if she doesn’t show, I’ll be forced to make an announcement by the end of the week than your mate bond is null and void. You foolish, stupid boy.”
“Man.”
“ Boy .” She flicks a hand at me. “First you run off with someone beneath you, someone who isn’t even an Omega. At all. If you’d waited, held off, I’d have told you.”
“You shouldn’t have the right to play with people’s lives.”
“That’s interesting coming from you, isn’t it?” The battle-ax looks at me. “You then get yourself a reputation even some alley cats would be shamed by.”
“Like you even care.”
“And then you sink so low with your mate. Drugging her?”
“Contraceptives.”
“Even worse. I don’t allow them unless applied for and with specific reasons.”
“Because you like being draconian?”
“I need to keep track of lines, of people, of pregnancies and lack thereof. You don’t understand.”
“Stop being such a?—”
“ Shut your mouth .” The Alpha voice washes over me, making me want to do just that, but at the same time I fight it. I’m as strong as she is. But…I let her think she wins. I don’t finish the insult.
Because it’ll only make things worse.
Finally, Pen joins us and it’s just horrible. A clock that isn’t there ticks and no one speaks. Food is brought and taken away untouched until it’s blindingly obvious that Violet isn’t turning up.
The humiliation is crushing.
I fix the battle-ax with a glare. I’m sure she’s loving this.
She stands. “Thank you, Pen,” she says.
Pen just mutters something and raises a glass mockingly.
“One week, Stephan. Or it’s null and void, and you’ll have to face the consequences, as will Violet.”
With that, she sweeps out.
“Fuck this.” I pull out my phone and go into my banking app. I make a huge transfer to Heath, sending him a note.
Half’s for your family, the rest is for Violet. I’ll make monthly payments.
He texts back.
Idiot
Five minutes later, I get one more text. My heart skips a beat then stutters and turns to stone.
I don’t want your money. Heath will return it.
“Fuck me.”
Pen sighs, pushes a drink across the table. “Not going well?”
“She won’t accept a thing from me. Not one fucking thing.”
“Have you thought,” Pen says, “that you’re doing it wrong?”
I pick up the drink and frown. “How am I doing it wrong?”
“Grand gestures are nice, but the small ones, those matter.” She shrugs.
“Like what?”
Pen only smiles. “That’s the thing about the small ones. They come from the heart or not at all.”