Page 79 of The Kiss Of Death
“I have to go.”
“I’ll be by the food.” Yas beamed. “Or should I sayamuse-bouches.”
I passed through the opulent chandeliers casting a golden veil glow over the gathering guests. The invitations were narrowed down only to an elite minority: Pantheon’s investors, business tycoons, superstars, and Nobel Prize winners—most of them former Pantheon students.
In the middle of that, my gaze was magnetically attracted to that one person I was anxious to see. You’d think it would be easy to avoid him among the hundreds of students, but no, Levi was everywhere.
He moved with a feline grace. The dense room seemed to close on him, every mirror reflecting him. He possessed a haunting beauty, akin to a dark angel descending from the frescoes on the ceiling above as if fate had sent him to torment me. My heart quickened.
He exuded danger, cloaked in refined elegance. His all-black tuxedo, impeccably tailored, accentuated his sharp, hollow cheeks. The only embellishment on his attire wasn’t his square obsidian stone cuff links but the small epaulets gracing his shoulders, resembling the graceful feathers of a black swan.Just like my dress.Even his nails were painted black.
I couldn’t evade him; our paths converged—Mr. Delgado was right behind him, and Levi wasn’t the type to move away if he hadn’t decided to do so.
“Let me go through, Levi.”
“You haven’t eaten anything the whole day,” he scolded.
“Did you spy on me?”
“Would that surprise you?” he said as if his behavior was normal. “You’re anxious.”
“Of course I am. I’m playing in front of a whole crowd, and I can’t mess this up. I’ve never done that before, and I’m—” I took a deep breath.Why was I confiding in him, of all people, again?“Not the point. I need to go.”
“You need to eat,” he insisted, handing me something that looked like a protein bar.
I took it from him, somewhat perplexed.
“Well, thank you. I’ll see you later,” I said, attempting to move past him.
However, as we brushed past each other, he grasped my hand, causing our bodies to come side by side. His lips hovered dangerously close to my neck, his stormy eyes fixed on me.
“I see you liked my little gift.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Your gift?”
“Didn’t you realize we match? I don’t go for subtlety.”
“The custom-made suit,” I mumbled, remembering what he’d told me that night we played Lucie’s scores together. “You did it on purpose.”
“You look exquisite in that dress.” His voice, velvety and venomous, sent a shiver down my spine. “Black is definitely one of your colors.”
I blinked, facing him. “But how? And why didn’t you say anything last night?”
“I saw how you stared at me through the window like a broken, sad little doll.” He wore his usual sadistic smile. “Afterthat, I merely had to extract information from the saleswoman. Telling you all that would have ruined my grand gesture.”
I gasped. “Oh no. Don’t tell me you had anything to do with Maria.”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, shrugging.
“She’s a Tactician,” I continued, my voice shaking. “Of course, you had something to do with it… I don’t deserve this spot… And here I thought I was making it on my own. I’m just an impostor, and it’s all because of you, because you’re unhinged!”
“Maria got an opportunity she couldn’t refuse, and you have the spot that should have belonged to you in the first place. I don’t see how this—”
“You’re ruining this for me!” My voice turned high-pitched, like a pathetic yelp, my breaths growing shallow and rapid. “I’m not a charity case. I want to accomplish this on my own because I deserve it. And you—you’re messing things up for me.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I didn’t mess it up. I made it perfect. For you.”
“For me,” I repeated in a whisper.
