Page 12

Aire

"Y ou rarely come to these things. What changed?" Nolan's friend's gaze drifted meaningfully to me. I glanced at nothing in particular beside Hunter Stratt, just so I wouldn't endure his glare. Like some people in this room, he must know of Aelin. Even though she spent most of her time in Los Angeles, it seemed there were a few people at this fundraising gala who had met her, one of them possibly being Hunter, and I didn't want to spend any more time around him. But because he was Nolan's friend, we hung around him longer than I wanted to. His gaze kept darting to me, making me uncomfortable .

"I attend this ball regularly." Nolan casually thrust a hand in his pants pocket. "It's you who is the anomaly."

Hunter chugged down half of his wine glass contents. "True. I don't know how anyone stands these things. Just send me a sad email and I will happily draft a check. You don't have to make me wear a suit."

Nolan frowned. "Then why are you here?"

Hunter gestured at someone behind us. "Because the host is my cousin, and I have run out of excuses."

I glanced over my shoulder to see who he was referring to and my eyes locked onto three women talking in a circle. My stomach dropped. I recognized one out of the three. The beautiful, petite, light-skinned black woman with long brown curls was Thalia. Next to her was a tall, statuesque brunette who looked vaguely familiar. I was sure I had seen her face on a billboard before. The three women wore sparkly jewel toned gowns, all different colors and styles, that made them stand out in the crowd. Beside her was another beautiful raven-haired woman unfamiliar to me. They spoke animatedly and looked like friends.

"Gemma can be persuasive when she chooses," Nolan said. "She made me guest-of-honor just so I could attend."

The women must have sensed our gaze because one of them, the tall one, waved at us smiling, then she and the rest of her crew promptly made their way to us.

"Hugh said you weren't coming," the tall brunette said. "I bet five dollars that you wouldn't miss an opportunity to show off your new wife," the tall

"Hi Darcy." Nolan drew me to his side, and I tried to ignore my body's reaction to his hand touching my waist. "Aelin, meet Gemma," he gestured to the raven haired woman, "The wonderful organizer of this gala. I don't know how she single-handedly pulls it off, but she does every time."

Gemma chuckled. "You're such a flatterer," she turned to me, "Don't listen to your husband. There's an entire committee that contributes to organizing all of this."

"Darcy," he motioned to the tall woman, "a family friend. Although I am not sure what she does ever since she retired from modeling."

"She does a lot," Darcy said, "including hosting this event, among other things. Hi Aelin."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

Darcy's eyes narrowed, and she looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted by an oblivious Nolan who said, "And of course you've met Thalia. "

I said a small hi, wondering what Thalia had told her friends of me. Darcy and Gemma didn't seem to be aware of the brunch revelations, and if they were, they were polite enough not to show it. Darcy, however, seemed to be intensely interested in me. She gawked. Unnerved by her microscopic gaze, I deliberately avoided her.

"We were wondering if you just ask people to write you a check," Hunter said. "Instead of doing," he waved his hand around, "Doing all of this."

"That's because most of you wouldn't cough up your money if we didn't wine and dine you," Gemma tapped her cousin's shoulder. "You billionaires can be stingy if someone comes to you with a begging bowl."

"We need to get you drunk and happy so you can unclasp your purse," Darcy added.

Nolan rolled his eyes. "Is that why you made me the guest of honor?"

"We made you guest-of-honor so you can take the biggest donor crown off of Thalia. It's weighing heavily on her," Darcy said.

"Darcy!" Gemma cried. "That was supposed to be a secret." She lowered her voice when she spoke the last two words. Darcy shrugged and took a sip of her wine.

"She's his sister-in-law. He has to do it for her."

"Take the crown away from me, please. I cringe every time I see my name on that board. "

I darted my eyes to a large wooden board with the words Platinum Crown: Thalia Hawthorne in gold lettering hanging on the south wall of the ballroom. Other walls had the names of other crown holders. With the gold crown on the north wall, with the silver crown on the east wall and the bronze crown on the west wall.

Why would she not want her name on it if she was the holder of what I assume to be the largest donor to what was a worthy cause? It was a cancer charity, was it not? I didn't have to wonder for too long because Thalia then sighed and said, "I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. It should be Carey's name up there. I did nothing."

"Sorry," Gemma said. "If I had put Carey's name up, people would have called me a sexist for assuming it's the guy who donated when everyone saw you put your name. And I can't, anyway. Carey said if I put his name up there, he will sue the charity into bankruptcy."

"I'm sorry. What exactly did you do?" I asked.

"I thought I was donating two thousand dollars, instead of two million dollars. And to make matters worse. My husband didn't like me at the time and I was sure he was going to humiliate me by making me admit the mistake to everyone."

"But he paid and made everyone think she was the one who donated," Darcy cooed. "Because he was in love with her all along. "

"Carey sounds like a good guy," I pondered

"He has his moments, my brother." Nolan said beside me.

"Thank you once again, Nolan," Thalia said.

A Hawthorne looking after another Hawthorne. Even a Hawthorne through marriage. They looked after each other just like grandfather had said. I wondered if they would extend the same protection to me. Probably not. He would gladly send me to the wolves if he could. I turned my gaze to my husband. In a well cut black tuxedo and bowtie, he was the very image of a handsome man. My heart skipped a beat when I walked out of my bedroom and saw him waiting for me. My heart hasn't recovered since.

"And what about you, Aelin?"

Darcy yanked me out of my reverie. She gawked at me, waiting for an answer.

"Huh?"

Darcy repeated her question. "Will you be going to Lake Trenwood? You never missed a year, did you? Except for last year of course."

My heart beat faster and it wasn't because of the man with his hand on my waist. Fuck. Darcy knew Aelin. And what the fuck was Lake Trenwood? I remember nothing about it from my Aelin files.

"It's great to go off the grid every once in a while. I should try it sometimes," Hunter said .

Gemma sighed. "Lake Trenwood is amazing. Darcy introduced it to me last year and I can't wait to return."

"So?" Darcy raised her eyebrows. "Should we expect to see you this year?"

My tongue stuck to my mouth. I had no idea what to say and what would be the right thing to say. Yes or no?

Nolan's hand tightened around my waist. "Aelin and I will be somewhere else."

I swallowed a sigh of relief, but Darcy narrowed her eyes. Something told me I had avoided walking into a trap by not answering the question.

"How is New York? I know we're not as fun as LA," Gemma asked.

Technically, I've been in New York all of my life. "It's lovely."

"If you're looking for something to occupy yourself with, you could join our foundation," Darcy spoke in a sweet voice, but I was not dumb. Staying as far as away from Darcy as possible should be my priority while I was running in their circles.

Gemma's eyes widened. "That's a great idea!"

"You'll be doing great work. We've helped further cancer research to new heights," Darcy added .

Everyone's gaze turned to me. They were all waiting for my answer. "Sure, why not?" I couldn't exactly say no to curing cancer.

"Wonderful," Gemma said. "Give me your number. " She took out her phone out of her clutch purse and shoved it under her arm. "And I will send you the deets."

Just as I was inputting my phone number into Gemma's phone, a gong sounded, and the function began. Darcy, Gemma and Thalia disappeared as Hunter, Nolan and I headed for our table.

The function was nice. They had a famous talk show host as the host. There was a contemporary dance performance. Nolan got up and gave a speech plus a pledge to donate five million dollars. That drew gasps and a rumble of claps from the crowd. Following this, a legendary pop singer sang an acoustic version of her hit songs; concluding the event with a silent auction.

The auction was kinda boring and after sitting in the same position for too long; I wanted to stretch my legs. "I'm going to the powder room," I said to Nolan, who was busy on his phone. He didn't look up, but gave me an imperceptible nod. I got up and made a beeline to the doors at the corner of the ballroom.

The powder room was free of people, which made me relax a little. I wanted some time alone without having to act like someone else all the time.

I opened a faucet and ran my hand under the water. The rivulets were cool on my skin and calmed me down. But before I could fully relax, footsteps and chatter from outside became louder. People were coming into the bathroom. As the voices came nearer, they became more recognizable. Darcy and Thalia!

I rushed into a stall and shut it. I don't know why, I just didn't want to face them right now. To make sure they would not see me, I closed the porcelain lid of the toilet and hunched on top of it.

"I heard something happened at brunch," Darcy said as she entered.

"It was kinda distressful," Thalia replied and told Darcy all about the brunch debacle as the clattering of powder cases and the popping of lipstick lids provided a soundtrack to the story.

"I don't know why he married her," Darcy said when Thalia was done.

"He did it for the business, according to Carey."

"Does your brother-in-law know that Hawthorne is not everything?"

Thalia sighed. "He takes his work too seriously."

"A lot more seriously if he thinks he has to marry Aelin, of all people, to gain a company. Did you know that she tried to kill her boyfriend? "

"I wouldn't believe tabloid gossip. That boyfriend of hers was sketchy. They talk about hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, but men? They will kill you or kill your reputation just for leaving them."

"True," Darcy said. "But this is Aelin Burgess we're talking about. I wouldn't put anything past her."

The toilet seat I was balancing on was slippery and unfortunately my heel slipped, and the shoe cluttered to the floor, making enough of a noise that I was sure both women heard me. The silence that followed seemed to show that.

I was caught. Might as well own up. And besides, wasn't I the first one here? It's not like I was doing anything wrong. I got up, brushed down my dress, put on my shoe, flushed the toilet and got out.

My appearance shocked Thalia, but not Darcy. It was as though it was me she expected to come out of the stall.

"Hi," Darcy said.

"Hi," I replied as I casually went to a sink and washed my hands. The two women were openly glaring at me.

"Is it true?"

I glanced at Darcy. "What is?"

"What we were talking about."

I had to admire her bluntness. People who didn't hide behind a veil of politeness were better than the ones who did. "About my boyfriend? No. I didn't try to kill him. Like Thalia said, some men will literally kill a woman, or at least kill her reputation for simply leaving him."

"We're sorry," Thalia said, looking contrite. "We didn't mean to gossip."

"I did," Darcy cut in. "There's something odd about you, Aelin. What changed?"

"I'm not who you think I am, Darcy. Yes, I did have a spoiled brat era, but that's the old me. I am a different person."

"Bullshit."

"Believe what you want, but that's the truth."

Darcy scoffed. "Why did you marry him?"

"My grandfather refused to give me my inheritance unless I did." It was close enough to the truth that it didn't feel like a lie.

Thalia's face fell in sympathy. "Nolan is not a terrible guy to have as a husband."

Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. He's a nice guy and a good friend of mine." She crossed her arms. "Which is why I am worried for him."

I shrugged and went out of the bathroom, leaving the two women. Darcy had my number. She just didn't know it yet. Better stay as far away from her as possible.