Page 105 of Wisteria and Cloves

Richard's jaw worked, his eyes darting from side to side as if looking for backup. "This isn't over, Lexton. We have friends in influential places—"

"So do we," I cut him off coldly. "And unlike yours, our friends actually care about our wellbeing, not just what we can do for them."

Caroline's perfectly manicured hand clutched at her designer purse, knuckles white with tension. "We only want to speak with her. To ensure she's truly... happy with this arrangement."

The false concern in her voice made my stomach turn. "If Lilianna wants to talk to you we will reach out.” I glared at them before getting into my car, slamming the door shut. I drove away from the parking lot, knuckles white on the steering wheel as I fought to control my temper. The encounter with Lilianna's parents had left a bitter taste in my mouth. Their audacity, showing up like that—acting as if they had any right to dictate her life after what they'd done.

My phone rang through the car speakers.Julian.

"You're late," he said without preamble. "Christopher just got home and you usually make it home from your practice before him.”

I took a deep breath, trying to not let my anger show through into my voice, "I had visitors at the training facility."

"Visitors?" Julian's voice sharpened immediately. "What kind of visitors?"

"The Waycliffes." The silence that followed was deadly. I could almost see Julian's expression hardening, his jaw setting into that rigid line that meant someone had crossed a boundary they shouldn't have.

“How long until you are home. Lilianna already went to bed.” I could hear the low growl in his voice and knew he was angry. I was too and knew the other two would be as well.

"Ten minutes," I replied, turning onto the main road that would take me back to our home. “We can all have a sit down talk when I get there.”

The house was quiet when I let myself in, but not in the peaceful way it usually was after dinner. The lights were low in the main room, the kind of dim that felt deliberate. Controlled. Like everyone was waiting for something.

I stepped out of my shoes, shrugged out of my coat, and walked into the kitchen where the other three were gathered. Julian sat at the head of the table, one hand resting against his mouth, his brow drawn low. Nicolaus was nursing a glass of red wine, expression unreadable but posture stiff. Christopher stood, arms crossed, pacing in a slow line near the windows. The tension was a live thing in the room—coiled and heavy.

“She’s asleep?” I asked softly, needing to confirm it again.

Julian nodded. “She was tired I think from the anxiety of making a social account today, so she went to bed early.”

“Good.” I exhaled, scrubbing a hand through my hair. I felt the grit of practice still clinging to me despite the shower. The tension with the Waycliffes hadn’t exactly cleansed me. If anything, it made me feel dirtier.

Christopher’s pacing stopped. “You saidtheyshowed up. Both of them?”

I nodded, jaw tight. “Right outside the stadium. Waiting by my car like some horror-movie power couple.”

Julian’s eyes flicked to mine. “What did they say?”

I stepped forward, planted my hands on the edge of the table, and told them everything. I didn’t sugarcoat it. From the smug way Caroline had called me by my last name, to Richard’s condescending lectures on Lilianna’s “breeding,” to the veiled threats of dissolving the agreement. Every word, every look, every implication.The longer I spoke, the darker the mood in theroom grew. Julian finally moved, sitting back in his chair, eyes narrowing.

When I finally finished, Nicolaus was the first to break the silence. “They’re trying to reassert control. They expected us to keep her pretty and quiet. Something they could parade as a political alliance and nothing more. But she’s waking up. Speaking.Living.That threatens everything they built their identity on.”

“And she’s not even trying to cause a scene,” I added. “She’s just… being herself. That’s what scares them most.”

“She was proud of that post,” Nicolaus told us, sighing as he pushed the glass of wine away from him, “She had Julian and I there with her when she posted it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile like that over something she did on her own.”

The room fell quiet again. For a long moment, the only sound was the distant hum of the refrigerator and the faint creak of the house settling.

“What do we do now?” Christopher asked finally, looking at all of us. “Because I doubt this was a one-time thing. If they showed up once, they’ll do it again. They won’t go away quietly.”

Julian looked at me first. “You were the one they confronted. What’s your read?”

“They’re bluffing,” I said. “They’re furious, yes, but they’re scared too. Scared of losing access, scared of her slipping from their grip. But their threats? They’re weak. The contract holds. Their names are on every line that matters. They know it.”

“But people like them don’t need legality to cause trouble,” Christopher pointed out. “They can manipulate the press, leak things and stir up enough smoke that someone starts to wonder if there’s fire.”

“They want her to feel watched,” Nicolaus said, deadly calm. “They want her to go back on suppressants. Fall in line. Hide herself again.”

My hands clenched. “That’s not going to happen.”

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