Page 33 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
Even Ophelia.
They all knew.
He didn't taste his food. Didn't hear what Helga whispered in his ear.
He only watched the girl with the cracked phone, the callused hands, and the silver crane cufflinks he hadn't dared wear tonight.
The girl he would never deserve.
The one he'd just lost.
Dinner dragged on endlessly.
Until finally, it was over.
She rose from her chair like a ghost, silently drifting through the crowd. She moved like a sleepwalker, navigating between beaded gowns and expensive suits with no recognition on her face. The light glanced off her hair and the opal at her throat, but her eyes were flat and distant.
He couldn't follow her. Not yet.
He had to wait.
Then, when the moment allowed, he leaned towards his mother and Helga, voice tight. "Meet me in Dorian's study. Now."
The door closed behind them with a soft click, but the fury in the room was immediate.
"What the hell was that?" Crispin snapped, turning to Helga, voice low but razor-sharp.
Helga blinked. "I assumed you were going to-"
"Youassumed?" he hissed. "You lied. I never asked you to marry me."
Helga's jaw tightened. "You didn't deny it."
He spun to his mother. "Did you know about this?"
She lifted her chin. "Helga told me you'd proposed."
"I didn't," he said flatly. "Because I have no interest in marrying her."
His mother stiffened. "Is this about that girl? The cleaner?"
That did it.
"Why?" he demanded, stepping closer, voice cracking around the edges. "Why would you do this? Do you hate me that much?"
His mother's brows lifted, as if surprised by the desperation in his voice, but she said nothing.
So, he kept going, words tumbling out like something he could no longer control.
"Do you know what you just did to her? To me? You think this was some strategic move to protect the family name, but what you did was destroy the only good thing I had."
His voice dropped to something raw. A whisper meant only for truth. "She's the air I breathe. The other half of my soul."
Helga let out a broken sound. "You're humiliating me."
He turned to her. "No. You humiliated yourself. I told you this wasn't real, but you chose not to listen."
His mother's voice tightened. "You're throwing away your future, our legacy."
