Page 18 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Julian POV

Damen and I had been summoned to the Stephens family estate, which could only mean one thing.

Bryce had gone and opened his big mouth.

The butler walked us through the house, to the second floor, and to Gregory’s office door.

Damen didn’t say a word as we entered.

Gregory and Declan were there already. Gregory was seated behind his desk while Declan loomed at the bookcase. Bryce was sulking in the corner on the opposite side of the room.

I glared at him. This was all his fault.

“We have a problem,” Gregory stated, looking between us. “One that you three knew about and neglected to disclose, for whatever reason.”

Bryce stiffened, no longer as cocky—so he’d gotten into trouble too—while Damen braced himself.

“What?” Damen asked.

Nice. Vague enough to not give anything away. We had many problems. I’d have to question Bryce later on the full extent that he’d spilled.

He met my glare and frowned.

“We understood, of course, that Bianca has been suffering certain medical conditions and has refused to be seen. But, until Dr. Kohler approached us, we had no idea that the situation had turned critical.”

Damn it, Mom.

“You cannot force her to get an exam.” Damen stepped forward. “It will retraumatize her.”

Gregory shot him an annoyed look. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Don’t lecture me on behavior patterns I’ve been studying since I was your age. I’m not suggesting you force her.”

“Oh…” Damen blinked.

“How can you say that?” Bryce asked, stunned, as he looked at Gregory. “She needs medical care. She’s passing out. We can’t just ignore it.”

“No one is ignoring it,” Damen said, voice low. “We knew there was an issue, which was why we’d gotten prescriptions. She’ll never ask for help for herself.”

“Bianca and I have a Soul Bond. Miles has one with her too. He’s been absorbing her pain. I’ve been monitoring things and helping where I can,” I added. “But this is the first time she’s been this bad since we’ve met. We’ll readjust.”

“Yet, you don’t have a real plan to find out what’s wrong!” Bryce rebutted.

“She will not consent to an exam,” I said, crossing my arms. “Mom’s already talking about taking it to Jameson, and that’s the last thing she needs.”

Damen looked at me in alarm.

“Jameson will be involved only when we allow it.” Gregory’s expression tightened. “But she still passed out. If the situation is escalating, then we can’t put this off much longer.”

That was… surprising. Not that we disagreed—we’d been trying to keep this from Jameson too. But Gregory was usually more concerned with following processes. “So you’re okay to go against him?”

“Jameson was made her godfather before she was born,” Declan spoke for the first time since we’d entered the room.

“You know how he is—when he finds out she’s alive, he would try to force medical intervention.

However, while he might outrank us as Officers, I am her father. I will not let him overrule me.”

“He won’t like that,” Damen warned.

“I don’t care,” Declan replied. “She is a Dubois, and she is a Stephens. My brother will oversee her medical care, and my nephew under him.”

A knot in my stomach began to loosen.

Declan looked at Bryce. “And you will not force her to see a doctor again.”

“What?” Bryce scowled. “So we just let her get worse until Uncle Elias is back in town?”

“He is already here,” Declan replied smoothly. “And you will obey.”

“She ran despite the magnitude of her pain,” Gregory said. He was resting his chin on his linked fingers. “She’s been avoiding treatment for a decade. She’s not being stubborn.”

I clenched my jaw. We’d known, of course, but hearing Gregory also say it made everything much more real.

“There’s still much we do not know about her captivity. Therefore, until the day it absolutely cannot be avoided—or she is willing—we will not force her into a medical setting,” he said, looking pointedly at Bryce.

Then he turned his attention to me, and I pulled myself out of my dark thoughts. “You will monitor everything. Record it. Use your Bond if you must. We will need that information for when, eventually, she does consent.”

“Right.” I nodded.

“And—” He looked back at Bryce. “We find ways to covertly care for her in a manner that does not trigger her. Your initial approach was correct. She needs to learn to equate medical care as something that does not hurt her. She trusts Dr. Kohler to an extent, and she did not protest at being pampered. Use it.”

Declan stepped forward and looked between Damen and Bryce. “You two need to work together. Stop this rivalry. It will only hurt her, and I don’t think either of you wants that to happen.”

Bryce tensed while Damen glared at the floor.

Honestly, though, he was right. I’d been getting pretty annoyed with it too.

Gregory’s gaze cut between us before settling on Bryce. “There are other aspects in her life where she will no longer have control, for her immediate physical safety. But we will not be something she also needs to recover from.”

I frowned. Why did it sound like something had already been decided?

Whatever it was, I had the feeling we weren’t going to like it.

Bianca POV

We were only on the road for half an hour before Titus pulled off the highway and onto a small road. It led through the woods, and even though the best fall foliage had long since cleared, the vegetation was still beautiful.

I pressed my face against the glass to get a better look.

“Like what you see?” Titus asked lightly.

“Yes.” My breath fogged up the tinted windows, and I pulled my sweater over my wrist, rubbing at the spot. “How are they still colorful right now?”

“I make sure to choose plants that bloom later in the season,” he replied.

“Does that mean we’re getting close to your office?”

Titus didn’t answer. Instead, he followed the road to the left, and as we rounded another corner, a large, gleaming building stood before us. When I pressed my face to the glass this time, it wasn’t to look at the trees.

It was several stories high, and wall-length windows covered any surface where the pale white, reflective siding didn’t already shimmer in the sunlight. Despite that, it was impossible to see inside, meaning the windows were perfect for privacy.

This was a building that a man with money should own. Not like Damen’s affinity for things in various states of disrepair. Although, to be honest, I’d grown rather fond of the onmyoji’s sentimental reasoning.

It was kind of cute.

Still, I was gaping as Titus pulled the SUV under a glass-covered overpass, and by the time I managed to pull myself together, he was already opening my door.

“Do you like it?” he asked. He held my hand to his chest and helped me down. His heart raced under my palm, and I realized he worried I’d disapprove.

The fact that he cared about what I thought made me feel important.

“Yes,” I managed, suddenly self-conscious. “It’s very… you.”

His face lit up, and he placed my hand into the crook of his arm as he walked me through the sliding glass doors and past the doorman.

His tense form relaxed as we approached the silver elevator, and once we were inside, he twisted his fingers in mine. Once we got to the top floor, we traveled down another hallway until we stood before a light oak doorway.

It was only after Titus pulled me into the room that my apprehension began.

I pressed my hands to my burning cheeks and shook my head. What was I doing? We’d only just been on our first official date yesterday, and now we were alone together in his fancy, private office.

I’d read enough boy-on-boy romances to know how this might play out.

A brooding, wealthy CEO always seduced the innocent, sunshine office worker.

But Titus would have more morals, I was sure.

He would certainly not toss me onto his extremely sturdy-looking, tidy desk and kiss me breathless before it all faded to black.

In fact, he was far from being a dark, brooding antihero with multiple secrets.

Wasn’t he?

“Titus Ducharme!” Maria’s furious shout rang through the room. “Where have you been since yesterday? How dare you leave…” She’d stormed through an attached doorway, and her tirade trailed off as she spotted me waving stupidly at her.

“Bianca!” Her perky—but angry—face shone bright red, and she glared at Titus. The dragon smirked and led me to the desk that had held my fascination only seconds before.

“You ass,” she told him.

I slowly lowered my still-raised hand back to my side.

“Not you,” Titus told me, guiding me to sit in the light leather chair. “Maria’s upset because I skipped a boring meeting yesterday afternoon.”

“Boring meeting?” The embarrassment dropped from her face, and she narrowed her blazing eyes at him. “I worked for weeks to set that up.” Her attention returned to me, and her features softened into a polite smile. “Hello, Bianca. I’m happy to see you.”

Was she, though?

My heart was breaking, though I was sure neither shifter could tell. I was an expert in hiding these things, after all. But I’d thought we might be friends, even going so far as to ignore that lingering feeling in my gut that tried to convince me that she didn’t like me.

“I need to get to work,” Titus said as he removed his jacket and laid it across his desk. “Maria, can you take Bianca down to the café?”

Maria stepped back, dropping her clipboard to her side as she stared at the dragon.

Yes, it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with me.

My skin burned, and I sank further down into my seat. I was too ashamed to show any indignation at the insinuation that he needed to make arrangements for me.

I didn’t want playdates. I wanted friends.

An image of the boys crossed my thoughts, and I pressed my hands to my cheeks as I shook my head, willing the reminder away.