Page 210 of Whispers of Wisteria

The room was silent, and when I looked up, everyone had the strangest expressions.

“Is—is that okay?” I asked.

Titus stepped back. He was still staring at my chest, and his body was tight with tension.

Damen looked at him and frowned. “Titus?”

Titus didn’t stop to look at him. Instead, he stalked past me and left the room.

I stared at the empty doorway.

“D-did I say something wrong?” I asked, looking back at Uncle Gregory.

They said I should do what I wanted, and I wasn’t sure how everything would work.

“No,” he said, clearing his throat. “You’re exactly right.”

But then why—

“You may study with Gloria,” Uncle Gregory continued. My heart lifted. “She can shift now, so that’s one less concern. Any job you go on is contingent on your safety. We’ll discuss the details later.”

I nodded slowly. I wasn’t sure what came next, but at least this felt like a step in the right direction.

32

Damen POV

Bianca wentto her room with Julian after the fae left. Titus returned shortly after that.

He stepped into my office, shaken, and ran his fingers through his hair. His knuckles were bruised and bleeding, and he wouldn’t look at either me or Miles.

“Titus?” Miles half stood from his seat. “Where did you go?”

“You need to get rid of that damn rabbit,” he said without preamble.

My lecture died in my throat. This had been one of the few times that Bianca had been emotionally open, and he could have ruined everything. But, thankfully, Gregory had taken care of the aftermath.

I assumed he was mad about everything that’d happened, but it was about the rabbit?

This was the first time I had seen it. There was nothing notable from what I could tell. It was an old, ratty toy with frayed stitching and a missing eye. Probably something Abigail gave her when she was first adopted.

“Why?” I asked.

He clenched his jaw—I could almost feel his anger from across the room. “Because it’s from Richards’s place.”

It felt like the wind had been knocked from me. “What?”

“It reeks of it,” Titus said. “And she kept it!”

Miles had sat back in his seat, face pale. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s not ‘fine’,” I answered, rubbing my hand down my face. I was too numb to feel the anger I knew would come later. “No matter how much she claims she is.”

I’d even asked about it, but backed off once she got upset. Still, I should have known.

“We knew that,” Miles said. “But why would she even want it?”

“I’ll take care of it.” I stood. My hands were shaking as I pushed in my chair. “Stay here.”