Chapter 74: A Quiet Company
In Obsidian,
Giselle called out twice, but Alaric kept walking as if he didn’t hear. She paused and snapped, "Ric." Her cold voice halted everyone in the hallway.
And he stopped, but didn’t turn around.
Only when she caught up to him did she see Aveline standing at the entrance. He hadn’t stopped for her, but Aveline.
She glanced at the hallway that connects to Isabella’s office and whispered, "Didn’t you send her home?"
Alaric wasn’t sure how to feel about Aveline’s return. His men hadn’t called, so no one had followed them. She had either returned voluntarily or never left Obsidian at all.
They walked forward and stood in front of her. He asked, calm to the point of unease, "What happened?" She should’ve been asleep by now, after her medication.
Aveline wasn’t sure how to explain, or if she even should tell him that she came because she was worried about him. Now, looking at the redness on his cheek, the only thing she could manage was, "Could... I be of help?"
He saw through the words she didn’t utter. She was worried. Especially after he had rushed her to leave, when it had always been her walking away.
It wasn’t the right time for his parents or grandmother to meet Aveline, even by coincidence. Though the restraining order had been his choice, he didn’t want anyone blaming her for it.
And she didn’t need to know the mess of his family yet. The very mess that had kept him away from her for years.