Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I reach into my pocket to take out my keys. I have a Swiss Army knife on my keychain. I flip the small nail file and slide it into the divot. It fits almost perfectly, and with just a little finagling, I lift out the board.
And there, hidden beneath it, is a lock box.
17
OPHELIA
Ethan spins me on the dance floor. His face is stone, and he’s barely said two words to me all night.
The gala is being held in the grand ballroom of The Sinistral. I remember the first few years the Foxes held the event. Back then, it had been small enough that they hosted at their home. But the guest list has grown exponentially, and the Sinistral ballroom is bursting at the seams to hold everyone now.
We haven’t spoken again about my breaking off our engagement, and his parents haven’t said anything to me about it. I know he told them, though. I heard the shouting coming from Mr. Fox’s study, and Ethan’s been cooler to me since. Mira also. Mr. Fox had had some meeting in town, so I haven’t seen him yet. I’m in no rush to run into him either.
When I suggested I stay at a hotel, though, Ethan outright disagreed, and I told myself I’m choosing my battles. After tonight is over, I’ll head back to Boston. I’ll pack up the apartment and figure out my next steps then.
I look over Ethan’s shoulder, scanning the masked faces. I used to love the masks. At first, when I wasn’t sure why it was a masked ball at Christmastime, Ethan had told me how his mother had fallen in love with Carnival, an annual Venetian tradition, although it didn’t take place at Christmas. She’d attended some exclusive gala at a palace and wanted to bring that same sense of opulence and European intrigue to Sinistral.
Ethan squeezes my waist, tugs me closer a little more tightly than I expect.
I wince, meeting his eyes through the mask covering half his face.
“At least try to pretend you want to be here. Can you do that?”
“I don’t want to be here, Ethan. I told you—"
“Are you looking for him?”
“No. Why would I be?”
“Right. You just gave yourself away, you know.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask as he shifts his grip to my wrist, turns on his heel and leads us toward the bar.
He snorts and doesn’t loosen his hold on me. “Didn’t even ask who I was referring to.” His words have a violence all their own. It’s a side of Ethan I don’t know, not really, although I’ve seen glimpses. “A whiskey and a gin and tonic. Make the whiskey a double,” he tells the bartender once we reach the bar.
“I don’t think you need a double,” I tell him when he finally lets me go, and I rub my wrist.
“Really? You’re not the one who just told Sullivan Fox the engagement is off. So yeah, don’t mind if I have a fucking triple.”
I bite my tongue. I’m sure it was no easy task telling his father.
He attempts to put on a smile for someone walking past. He takes his drink but leaves mine on the bar. I reach for it, sip. Maybe I should have asked for a double too.
He shifts his gaze to me, lets it drop to the heavy ruby choker circling my neck.
“It’s an albatross,” he mutters. I’m not sure I heard him right, but he continues, gesturing to the choker. “The things we do for money and status. And for what?” He drinks down his whiskey. “I’m sure Mom wasn’t thrilled about lending it to you, considering.”
Honestly, it feels like it’s slicing into my neck and when I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the many mirrors mounted on the walls surrounding us, all I can think of is Bluebeard and the gift he made of the ruby choker to his young wife. What it foreshadowed.
Ethan watches me shudder. He shakes his head. “Don’t embarrass me tonight, Phee.”
“Embarrass you?”
“With him. I know you’re looking for him. I’m not stupid.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I mean it. I’m warning you—”
“You’re warning me?” I can imagine my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline.
“Just don’t.”
“Why would your parents invite Silas, anyway? It’s no secret how you feel about him.”
“He didn’t exactly give us a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” he says, just as a couple and an older man approach us. I recognize the older man, Mr. Bennett, whom I like. He’s a business associate of the Foxes. The woman, too, looks familiar. I notice how Ethan straightens up and clears his throat as they join us.
“Here’s the couple of the moment,” Mr. Bennett says.
I force a smile. Had the Foxes leaked news of the announcement?
“Ethan. It’s been forever,” the woman says and leans in to hug him, pressing her breasts against his chest and kissing each of his cheeks.