Chapter 10
Amelia
B 20 vouchers
I checked the time on my phone again. Jenny was over an hour late–no text, no call, nothing. Typical. She asked to meet up, then vanished like it wasn’t a big deal.
I wasn’t even annoyed—just resigned. That was how she operated. On her own schedule, with the world expected to wait. When she finally did show up, her steps were slow and her eyes distracted. She slid into the seat across from me, looking like someone who hadn’t slept in days.
“Sorry,” she said, barely meeting my eyes. “Things ran long.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I replied, though this time–unlike every other time she’d thrown out a careless sorry–there was something about it that felt almost… real. A faint trace of actual remorse I wasn’t used to seeing from Jenny. It caught me off guard.
We sat in silence for a minute. She tapped her nails on her cup, eyes fixed on nothing.
“I didn’t know,” she finally said, voice low.
I looked up. “Didn’t know what?”
That something happened to you at the mate ball. Not until Dad told me.”
My hand stilled on the coffee spoon. I looked back down.
“Oh.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice wasn’t harsh, but there was something raw in it–like she wanted to be mad but didn’t quite know how.
“I didn’t want to talk about it,” I said. “It was a while ago. It’s not really worth rehashing. I mean, most people have a story like that, right?”
Jenny gave a small shrug. “I guess.”
Jenny leaned back and let out a long sigh. “My friend got sent away this week. Some remote training pack. Like, middle of nowhere. Totally out of the blue.”
I tilted my head. “Sent away?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Apparently it’s disciplinary. But I think my dad had something to do with it.”
Something inside me shifted. “Wait. What friend?”
“He was at the mate ball. The one-” She stopped. “You know.”
It took me a second, but then it clicked. She was talking about him. Whatever his name was the guy who’d cornered me that night. My skin crawled. And she was still calling him her friend. After everything she’d just said, after acknowledging what happened, she was still putting him in that category. It stung in a way I wasn’t expecting.
My pulse jumped. “Are you saying your dad-?”
“I think he gave the guy’s parents a choice. Handle it or he would.”
The pieces clicked into place. I could still hear Richard’s voice that night, cold and controlled. The guy had vanished, and now I knew why He’d followed through. Not for show, for me.
“You didn’t know?” she asked.
“No.” 1 murmured. “Not until now.”
The weight of it sank in–quiet, powerful, terrifying. But not in a bad way. It was the kind of fear that left room for safety underneath it, like standing close to fire and knowing it wouldn’t burn you. Someone had done something for me without expecting anything in return. Someone had protected me because they thought I deserved to be protected.
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Chapter 10
B 20 vouchers
That realization dug deeper than I expected. Not because it frightened me—but because it didn’t. Because it felt… good. Like something solid I hadn’t realized I needed to lean on until it was already there.
Jenny picked up her cup and frowned. “I mean… nothing actually happened, right?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. That was what she was going with? After everything she’d just said—after hearing what he’d done to me— she was still trying to minimize it? My heart sank. It felt like a slap, like she was rewriting the moment to make it more palatable for herself. Like my fear hadn’t been real unless it had escalated into something worse.
My stomach twisted.
“Why don’t you just talk to my dad?” she continued. “He didn’t really do anything to him. And being sent away like that… kind of seems
extreme.”
I stared at her.
“He didn’t touch you,” she added, as if that was the only measure of harm.
No, he hadn’t touched me–not like that. But he would have. I could still feel the way his fingers fumbled at the edge of my dress, how he tried to slip his hands beneath the fabric while I froze up, paralyzed by shock and fear. If Richard hadn’t come in when he did… I didn’t let myself finish that thought. Jenny saying that like it made everything okay? Like that was the bar for what counted? It made me
want to scream.
I couldn’t find the words. I just stared, feeling colder by the second.
Jenny looked uncomfortable, like she suddenly realized what she’d said–but instead of apologizing, she grabbed her bag.
“Anyway. I should get going. I’ll see you around.”
She left before I could even blink.
I stayed put, too stunned to move. After a few minutes, I pulled out my phone. No cabs. I called Adam. No answer. I tried another car app. Nothing available nearby. So I walked.
The farther I got from the cafe, the less familiar the streets became. Stores gave way to warehouses and faded signs. A couple of guys leaned against a fence, laughing too loudly. I crossed to the other side, heart pounding.
“Hey, sweetheart–where you headed?”
I ignored them.
“Don’t be rude, baby–smile a little.”
I walked faster, clutching my bag like it was a shield. Behind me, footsteps shuffled too slow to match a normal pace, too deliberate to be random. One of the men from the corner called out again, voice slurred with mock sweetness.
“What’s in the bag, honey? Something for me?” I didn’t look back. I didn’t breathe.
I just kept moving, faster now, my heartbeat thudding so hard I could hear it in my ears. A whistle sliced through the air, followed by a low, guttural Laugh that made my stomach twist. Someone muttered something crude–loud enough to be heard, soft enough that I couldn’t pretend it was anything but intentional. I didn’t dare turn around. I just focused on the
next step. And the next.
Then a horn blared–short and sharp. I jumped. A black car had pulled up beside me, window down. The passenger door swung open.
It was Nathan.
“Get in,” he said. His tone left no room for argument.
I slid inside, barely registering the warm air. And then I saw him.
Kichard.
In the backseat. Calm. Watchful.
His eyes scanned me, expression unreadable. “Why are you out here alone?”
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Chapter 10
“I was with Jenny. I didn’t think it would get this late.”
His eyes drifted to my jacket–thin and useless in the cold.
Without a word, he pulled off his coat and handed it to me. He didn’t ask. He didn’t hesitate. Just… did it.
It smelled like cedar and something sharper–like him. I pulled it close.
“Jenny’s friend,” I said slowly. “He really got sent away?”
Richard didn’t look surprised. “So she told you.”
I nodded. “She thinks the punishment was too harsh.”
His jaw tightened. “He’s lucky I didn’t press charges.”
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He turned his head slightly, eyes fixed on the window now. “That kid’s a danger. He doesn’t belong near people, let alone at events like
that.”
I hesitated. “She’s still my friend. I don’t want this to ruin everything.”
She’s not acting like your friend,” he said bluntly. “And she hasn’t listened to a thing I’ve said in months.”
I wanted to push back–to defend her. Jenny could be thoughtless, yes, but she wasn’t heartless. Not really. Maybe she just didn’t understand the full weight of what had happened. Maybe she was still trying to protect herself from what it meant that someone she knew, someone she called a friend, had done something like that. It didn’t excuse it, but I didn’t want to give up on her. Not yet.
I laughed under my breath. Then it faded.
“I just… feel like I should’ve done something. Anything.”
“You were the one who got hurt,” Richard said firmly. “You don’t owe anyone anything. Not Jenny. Not me. Not anyone.”
I looked down at my hands, fingers tugging at the cuffs of his coat. The weight of it made me feel small in a way that was strangely comforting.
His voice softened. “You’re allowed to be upset. You’re allowed to carry that however you need.”
We rode in silence after that. Not awkward–just quiet. Steady.
Then Richard leaned forward, reached into the rear compartment, and pulled out a small box.
“I almost forgot,” he said. “I heard it was your birthday recently.”
He handed it to me and my breath caught.
“You didn’t have to,” I whispered.
“I know,” he said.
And something about the way he said it made my chest flutter.
“I just thought you deserved something nice.”
I stared down at the gift, overwhelmed by everything it meant.
Because this–this moment, this gift, this man–made everything else fade away.
And I didn’t know how to thank him.
Not yet.
