Page 9 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Bianca POV

An hour passed, before Brayden left for another class. I continued studying until, finally, Damen texted me asking to meet.

I was more than ready. The medicine had begun to wear off, and my stomach was torn between agonizing pain and eating itself from hunger. The only thing that might cure me would be that particular kind of chocolate the onmyoji had given me earlier.

Or just any chocolate in general.

But that one especially.

However, as I meandered past the front desk, I was waved down by the most surprising person.

“Miss Brosnan?” the head librarian, Ms. McKinnen, called out as she lowered her hand. “Or…” She smiled lightly—and a bit mischievously—as her apologetic gaze moved over me. “I suppose it’s Mrs. Dubois now. I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you earlier. Are you waiting for your husband?”

My skin prickled as a chill of disgust passed over me.

It was one thing to refer to Bryce as my ‘husband’ in our small group, but it was something else entirely to hear someone else say it.

We—at least—knew the truth.

But the disgusting reality was that the rest of the world believed we were madly in love.

“Yes, he should be off soon.” I tried to sound pleasant, but I was sure my voice wavered.

I hadn’t expected to be questioned on this topic. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I only had to keep things as close to the truth as possible, without spilling the beans, of course.

I forced myself to smile despite how weird this brother-husband thing was beginning to make me feel.

If people were talking about us now, what would the rumors be when our real relationship came out?

Gross.

“Let me just say…” the middle-aged woman began, abandoning the screen she’d been entranced by only moments ago.

She pushed a small stack of book returns to the side and leaned forward, and her mouth lifted as the gossip began.

“I think it’s just fabulous that he’s finally settling down.

I’ve always thought that he was such a shy boy—sweet though, and definitely charming. ”

Ew. Bryce was none of those things. He was calculating and sneaky, but in a good way.

There had to be a good way to be sly. Right?

I fought the urge to touch my head.

What was this? Was I growing fond of Bryce? It was hard not to like him. I couldn’t fault him for his evilness either; it could be an excellent trait that showed intellect and passion.

But these things… was that really how the world saw him?

“Then again, any sense of competition would be enough to force a male fae’s hand. I know your kind can take offense at a challenge.”

Now, that definitely wasn’t true. I was perfectly fine with a challenge. Any kinship with the woman faded, and I frowned at her.

But she didn’t respond to my displeasure.

“So, what we don’t know is”—she crossed her arms over the table, eyes eager—“how did the two of you end up together? He’s quite special, I heard, and I was shocked to hear that Bryce would dally with a student, especially since you were already in a relationship with Finn Abernathy.

Student/teacher relationships are highly frowned upon, even if he isn’t full-time staff. ”

“What?” I almost choked and held my purse closer to my chest.

A relationship… with Finn? Never.

The innocent days of my youth, when I’d believed that might be a good idea, were long gone. I was older and more mature now.

Even more importantly, how could no one have informed me of this terrible rumor? Who would fall for this facade when it had such obvious plot holes?

Did I have to do everything myself?

This was the perfect opportunity. Ms. McKinnen was the worst kind of gossip. Anything we discussed now was sure to spread throughout campus before the end of the day.

My words would be weighed and criticized. Once everything became known, people would look back to this moment, and it would be my first statement to the world about my place here.

Darn it. I wasn’t ready.

I swallowed, trying to push away my encroaching panic. My fingers tightened over the corner of the bag, and I sucked in a breath, ready to venture into my first public relations foray.

I couldn’t screw this up. I had to make it seem like we were star-crossed lovers.

I had to think like a politician.

“Bryce and I had a few setbacks at the beginning of our relationship.” I glanced toward the exit, and my face grew hot. I was only twenty feet from freedom. Now to hurry this along before I puked. “But we wanted to be together, so it worked out.”

There was no way that this statement could be misinterpreted. Go me.

“Really?” Ms. McKinnen frowned. “I’ve been wondering something. Mrs. Hamway is very traditional, especially when it comes to student-teacher relationships. I’m shocked that Bryce still has a job. What did she have to say about this? She knows, right? When is she returning?”

My breath caught, and my shoulders tensed. Professor Hamway?

Lord, I’d forgotten about my ex-biology professor. I hadn’t heard from her since she’d asked me to housesit and all this nonsense started.

I felt my expression darken, and my teeth clenched almost painfully. We’d had an agreement, and she still owed me money. I’d put up with nearly dying, but at least the boys should have taken care of any furniture replacements.

Whatever happened with her plants? I sure hoped Bryce was keeping an eye on things.

But what could I do? I’d have to get paid later.

“I don’t know the details,” I muttered. “Just that things have been taken care of.” The boys had said something to that effect. However, no one had bothered to illuminate me, and I hadn’t thought to ask.

What if they left her conservatory to wither?

A shame.

Ms. McKinnen raised a thin, brunette eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes,” I said, even though I was now worried, despite the boys’ assurances, that all was okay.

I had no choice but to trust my ‘husband.’

And he’d probably let those plants die.

Regardless, this required a response. What sort of nonsense did star-crossed lovers spout? I needed to channel my inner-Damen and search within my soul for something worthy.

I held the bag closer, trying not to let my grief about the—now probably dead—exotic plants ruin my mood. “When we got together, Bryce promised that nothing would ever come between us.”

It was technically true. We were siblings, so our eventual divorce could not tarnish that bond.

My heart pounded in the aftermath. Even though this was frightening, I’d somehow made it through the interrogation without saying anything terrible. I was going to be so good at managing the press.

Ms. McKinnen paled and opened her mouth, but the phone rang, and she moved to answer it. With her distracted, I let out a low breath, allowing my focus to drift to the double doors.

Maybe this was a good time to take my leave?

“Please wait a moment, Mrs. Dubois,” Ms. McKinnen said, hanging up the phone. She no longer sounded like the kindly librarian acquaintance I’d come to know. Instead, now she seemed almost afraid.

Even though her grilling had been a bit annoying, I felt sympathy for the woman. She’d been so pleasant only moments ago; whatever she’d heard on that call must have been really bad.

“Yes?” Although I had no connection to her, I wanted to help.

The librarian swallowed, lowering her eyes from mine. “That was Professor Protean. She’s been looking for you and asks that you meet her in her office.”

I sucked in a breath, and even though she wouldn’t know, I asked, “Why?”

And more importantly, how did Ms. Protean know where I was?

“I’m not sure,” the librarian answered anyway, her voice lowering as she cupped the side of her mouth. “But I heard she takes on murder cases as a consultant.”

“Hmm…” That was interesting but ultimately irrelevant. I hadn’t killed anyone, at least not lately. She was, however, being nosy about cold cases that no one cared about.

Then again, she had mentioned something about taking me on.

“Maybe I should go see,” I muttered, biting my lip. I was supposed to go to Damen, and his feelings might get hurt, but this might be exciting.

“You should.” She was whispering for some reason, although I couldn’t fathom why. “It’s in your best interest to cooperate.”

Yeah, probably. It was just good manners.

I shouldn’t ignore her.

Besides, she’d probably stalk me around campus again.

“Maybe she can even help you,” Ms. McKinnen was still whispering, so I kept my focus on her mouth. “She’s usually cold-hearted and keeps her students at a distance, but she has a soft spot for the fae.”

The conversation, which had once been clear and coherent, had suddenly become odd.

What in the world was she talking about?

“You can trust her.” Her eyes held mine as if relaying a secret message. “She’ll work with you and keep you safe. Justice will be served.”

I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. Had something somehow gotten lost in translation?

Unless… Perhaps word had gotten around that Ms. Protean asked me to study with her.

“O-okay,” I stammered, my face turning hot. Did this mean that others thought I was up to the job? I had no idea people had that much faith in me. Sure, I’d considered it, but Dr.— Uncle Gregory had wanted…

No.

I would not listen to him. Besides, I’d already decided to work with Ms. Protean. This solidified it. I would do it. In fact, I would go to Ms. Protean right now and tell her so.

Uncle Gregory could eat a bag of rocks. Only, I had to be brave enough to tell him so to his face.

“I’ll go.” I touched my lips and moved to leave. “Thanks.”

“You can do it!” Ms. McKinnen called after me in a low-voiced shout. “Don’t be afraid.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing back. “I’ll do my best.”

Breaking my engagement with Damen was more difficult than expected. It’d been such a good morning—outside of Brayden getting upset by our presumed flirting—and I’d been looking forward to seeing him again.

Apparently, he felt the same.

Damen

Why can’t you meet with me?

Me

I told you, I have to talk to Ms. Protean about something.

Damen