Page 50 of Mistress A-0002

I didn’t wait for his answer. I barely caught his nod as I gave my own and spun for the door. I threw Drayton a look as he took up pace at my side.

“I need a date, Elec. Soon’s not going to cut it.”

“You always were impatient. I should have known you were going to wait for me.”

“I have to plan. I can’t just—We’re talking about Marian.”

I slowed, stopping us not far from the door separating us from the club.

“I can’t give you a date. I’m juggling a lot of things right now. The Council will have to propose a timeline. When they do, I’ll call. I don’t think it’ll take long. What happens above isn’t on the same timeline as what happens below. Marian and Ronald will be the easy part. The rest…well, that’s mine to deal with.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve hated the LaRoe family ever since they turned on me, but what did Melissa do to warrant an end to not just her line, but Ronald’s as well?”

I glanced at the door, not wanting to think about pieces of memory I’d barely managed to uncover buried between the layers of brainwashing and persuasion. Hypnosis. Inevitable victory fucking mindset. I was far from uncovering the entire truth. I probably never would. No amount of regression or mind tricks I tried to do to myself worked. I sure as fuck wasn’t going to try to get her to do it. And maybe I didn’t want to know the real truth. It was the mystery that ate at me. The not knowing. The lies and deceit she must have infused with my memories. It’s what I would have done. It’s what she taught me to do.

“That talk is for another time. Until the trials begin, anything I say can be used against me. Do you understand?”

He nodded. “I’ve dreamed about their downfall now for years. I never thought I’d live to see the day. Am I sad Melissa’s going to die?” Drayton made a deep growl. “She called my father the trash of the Penningtons for the way they raised me. That anyone related to us was better at leading than him. Trash, Elec.Because of me. She turned everyone against my parents. For years she made them outcasts. I mean, fuck,look at me.Look at the job I was given to stay in the circle. It’s an embarrassment as a Pennington. I’ve taken it because I know what I did was wrong. I’ve apologized to those involved a million times. I was a kid. I was stupid and…heartbroken. But there’s no excuse for what happened.” He swallowed hard, shifting, and looking back up to me. “I can’t get over what I saw when Marian and her parents came to our home that night. Her eyes. The hate and disgust at what we shared. Marian held such shame. But…maybe…fear? Remorse? I can’t be sure. I’m probably trying to justify it so I don’t feel even stupider. It was all so confusing. She said she loved me, Elec. That she wanted to be with me. The next thing I know, she’s—She wasn’t the same. She was just so hateful. What she said I did to her. The lies she told my parents. She was so cold. So…different.Those fucking lies. I guess I should be grateful for this life. I could be in jail or worse.”

My jaw flexed repeatedly as I picked up the signs.

“It was a long time ago. Like I said, she’s yours to do whatever you want with. Maybe we were all wrong. Maybe we were right. Just know, her mother may have been responsible for her behavior. I won’t know until I have her taken. I’ll see for myself before I send her to you. If?—”

“Elec.” His hand came up to stop me as he continuously shook his head. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. You wantan heir as payment. Not to keep, I know that, but to be part of us. To have its place. I just don’t know if I can do that.”

“It’s you or the Gardens for Marian, Drayton. At least with marriage?—”

“Marriage?You never said anything about getting married.”

For seconds I just stared.

“You can’t bring a child into our circle and expect it to be a legitimate heir if you don’t marry her. That’s not how it works, and you know it. Marry her. She’ll consent. She won’t have a choice. Bed her,willingly or not, and take back your rightful place. After she has the child, her fate is up to you. Maybe she dies in childbirth. Maybe you decide to keep her but don’t want to do it above ground as your wife anymore. Make her your slave in the Gardens for all I care. The privilege with her line is dying. Whether she does too is only up to you. Or,” I said, stepping in closer. “Maybe you’ll see her mother was responsible and Marian still loves you. Maybe the two of you will be the perfect match.”

Drayton’s top lip peeled back.

“Don’t count on that. We fought like hell back in the day. That night wasn’t the only night we got into it. She’s stubborn and pigheaded and…She runs her father’s businesses now. She’s undoubtedly worse. Probably intolerable.”

At his silence and faraway stare, I held in my smile.

“If I recall, herattitudedidn’t bother you so much back then. Before they came to you, all you talked about was how you were going to speak to her parents about marriage.”

“I did speak to them,” he ground out. “Weeks before they came to my parents’ house. They didn’t know about us then. Her mother outright refused me. She wouldn’t even let me finish.”

My eyes widened. “Refused you? But you were the Pennington heir. The best match they could have hoped for.”

“I wasn’t a stupid title.” His eyes rolled. “Melissa had high hopes. International royalty hopes. Way higher than me. I guess stealing Marian’s virginity didn’t help the matter. Not that I see why the fuck it would ruin her chances. I’m still confused why she never got married or settled down after how hard they were supposedly pushing her to do it. I mean, that’s what they wanted. At least, that’s what she said before I asked for her hand. Hell, it’s the main reason why there was such a rush.”

“Interesting.” My eyes lowered to the floor as thoughts raced. If Marian didn’t marry, and Melissa had wanted her to at least be betrothed so young…perhaps Marian wasn’t as swayed by Melissa’s gifts as I thought. Marian had left the country to intern at her father’s firm quickly after, and she rarely returned. Was it to avoid Drayton and the scandal that had come from their entire situation? The guilt for what she drove Drayton to do? Or had she been running from her own mother?

I wasn’t sure, but I’d find out. In the meantime, I had a world tour to discuss. I had rockstars to set up for endless fame. But not without cost. My handlings were about to increase just as much above as below. I may have not lived in the outside world, but in time, I could very well find myself living out here. We all had to settle down at some point. Being Main Master didn’t excuse me from my duties, they just made them harder. Whether I wanted to think about it or not… Whether Iwantedit…or not… Someday I’d have to settle down and start producing my own heirs. But not today.

Mistress A-0002

If it wasn’t for the voice in the back of my mind, I would have thought everything was returning to normal. I had no more nagging from Jett. My appointments were going smoothly for the most part. I saw Elec and he had smiled in passing. I even had a new promise ring Adrian had gifted me just this morning. He said it wasn’t just a promise of our commitment, but a promise of his devotion. I knew what he meant. It was a promise of my husband’s impending death. A promise that left me giddier than I wanted to admit. But it hadn’t lasted past the walk to my office. Silence brought worry. Worry fed delusions.

Tick.

Tick.

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