I go home late.
Partly because of Adam. Partly because I considered going to Cynthia’s building and barging inside.
The only reason I stopped is because of Cynthia. She doesn’t like me — because of my mother, I suppose — and would start a riot before allowing me to see Silver this late.
By the time I arrive home, it’s around one in the morning. It’s dark and quiet, so Sebastian and his team must be pulling an all-nighter in the party’s building. They seem to be doing that a lot lately.
Perhaps he knows how much Mum needs her quiet when she writes. Besides, it’s more convenient than moving back and forth between the house and his workplace.
As I open the door to my room, my mind fills with ways to drag Silver back here tomorrow.
I need to catch her at school before she runs to Cynthia’s. While I hate missing practice, because of the control I feel during games, I probably have to so I can —
I stop on the threshold of my room, my thoughts coming to a halt, too.
Silver sits on the chair by my desk — or, rather, sleeps. Her head lies on a book she must’ve been reading, her blonde strands half-camouflaging her face.
Her oversized T-shirt for the day is pink and barely reaches the middle of her naked thighs.
For a moment, I stand there and watch her.
For a moment, I soak in the image.
She came back.
Not only did she not stay at her mother’s, but she also came to my room.
She was waiting for me.
Fuck. I shouldn’t be feeling like a giddy teenager with a crush on the school’s queen B, but it’s there. The…joy.
Silver has never come to me before, not willingly. Not even as a pretence. She has walls so high, I thought I would never be able to climb over them no matter how much I tried.
And I did try.
I tried every fucking trick under the sun.
A part of me is still pissed off about the whole Adam thing, but now that I know he’ll disappear for good, some of that anger vanishes.
Besides, I can’t actually be mad at her when she’s sleeping. She looks so pure and peaceful.
I gently pull her hand away to catch the title of the book she’s been reading.
Nausea.
A small smile grazes my lips as I carefully wrap one hand around her back and the other under her legs and carry her in my arms. Her head falls against my chest with a satisfied moan.
She’s so beautiful, it’s fucking me up.
And it’s not only her external beauty, it’s everything about her, from her insecurities to her affectionate and responsible side.
It’s just her.
I sit on the bed and manoeuvre her so she’s half-lying atop me, her back leaning against my chest and her legs tucked between mine.
My fingers stroke the sensitive spot in her neck. She moans, and this time, her eyes flutter open.
Fine, so I was being a dick and woke her up. But I needed to see those baby blues.
For a second, she seems disoriented, then her lips break into a smile as she stares up at me, her head lying on my bicep.
“What are you doing here, Silver?”
The smile slowly vanishes. “Mum has a late-night meeting at the party and I don’t like staying there alone. Besides…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to run away anymore.”
“And you decided to come to my room?”
She nods.
“If I remember correctly, you ran away when I told you to wait in the car earlier. Do you think you can come and go as you wish, Silver?”
“Cole…”
“Answer the fucking question.”
“I was scared, okay? You can be scary sometimes.” She half-turns so she’s tucked in my lap and glides her fingers across my chest. “But when I got to Mum’s and knew she wouldn’t be home, I was restless. I met Adam there the other time, you know. He said his uncle lives there, but he doesn’t. So I was scared he’d come find me.”
That fucker. I should’ve punched him a few more times.
“I couldn’t stay there,” she murmurs. “You’re the only person I wanted to see.”
I try not to let those words consume me, but I fail. All I can do is watch her — the rosy hue on her cheeks, the relaxation in her shoulders as she snuggles into me.
“Are you still mad at me?” she whispers.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not you hide things from me again.”
She gulps. “I won’t.”
“You won’t, huh?”
“No.”
“Adam is gone,” I tell her. “He’ll be forced to transfer tomorrow. You won’t have to worry about him again.”
Her eyes light up and widen like when we were kids. And just like then, I would do anything to bring that expression again. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She plants sloppy kisses on my lips, my cheek, my jaw. “Thank you, thank you.”
It’s like she’s back to being a little girl, but I’m the only one who gets to see this side of her.
Just me. And it’ll remain this way for as long as we both breathe.
I reach my fingers under her T-shirt.
“Cole, what are you doing?” She swallows, her expression morphing from excitement to arousal.
“Punishment.”
“P-punishment?”
“You think you can hide things from me, flip me off and run away without paying the price?”
My fingers find her bare pussy and I grunt as her arousal coats my skin. “Looks like you’ve come ready for your punishment, Butterfly.”
Her breathing hitches as I thrust two fingers inside her.
“You’ll never lie to me again?”
“N-no.” Her thighs clench around me.
“Run away from me?”
“No…” It comes out as a moan as I pound into her and play with her clit.
“Take someone else’s side over mine?”
“Oh, God. Cole…” She tightens against my fingers, her lips forming an ‘O’.
Using my other hand, I slap her arse and she gasps even as her walls grip me like a vice. “That’s not the word.”
“No, no…” She falls apart around me.
“You’re mine, Silver. Only fucking mine,” I whisper against her ear.
She doesn’t nod. She doesn’t agree, but for the first time after an orgasm, she doesn’t tell me she hates me.
Silver
Unlike what I feared, Papa doesn’t say anything when I tell him about breaking off the engagement with Aiden.
He simply pats my back and tells me my happiness matters more than anything else. Besides, it’s not like Jonathan will stop backing him just because there’s no in-law relationship. Apparently, Papa can help him with a partnership with a duke’s family in return.
Jonathan hasn’t been as tolerant with Aiden, though. I think he’s taken him somewhere in China.
Mum is the same. She hasn’t been talking to me since she learnt the news.
She showed up here and started her usual fighting shows with Papa.
“You’re such a horrible influence, Sebastian. It’s because of you that Silver has no sense of responsibility.”
“Me?” He laughed with menace. “Do we really want to go down that lane, Cynthia? Because you’re the one who’s trying to make her a carbon copy of you, and not in the best way. If she doesn’t want to marry for money and status, she will not marry for money and status. I will not sell my own daughter like a whore the way you’re selling yourself to that Frenchman.”
Their fight just got more intense after that, it was like those divorce days all over again.
I squeezed Helen’s hand as we listened to them from outside Papa’s office. Helen was pale and I could tell she was uncomfortable, but she didn’t interfere or face Mum. If it were any other person, she would’ve kicked her out, and honestly, Mum would deserve it.
I apologised on her behalf to Helen and she stroked my cheek and told me it’s not my fault.
That was yesterday.