"Bro, did you grow taller?" Flynn couldn't help asking as he led Evadne and Casadin toward the Dalton Villa.
"I've always been taller than you," Casadin replied easily. "Anyway, why are you living with Heavensblade?" he added, smoothly redirecting the curiosity away from himself... because how was he supposed to explain that less than three hours ago they'd been the same height.
"He wanted to stay here in New York. He said he has something important to do," Flynn answered with a shrug. "And as a member of the Drilon family, since my dad technically never disowned me, I have to 'serve' him. Which means I live wherever he lives whenever he's not in California and he is here in New York, in case he needs me to do something for him."
"Like stalking?" Evadne and Casadin said at the same time.
Flynn whipped his head toward them, brows knitting together.
"Stalking? Why would he stalk someone?" Flynn asked, genuinely perplexed. "It's the other way around, bro. That's why he has four bodyguards around him at all times. If he makes a wrong turn down the wrong street, someone will probably kidnap him... not for ransom. For his sperm."
"You're insane," Casadin muttered, shaking his head.
"Anyway," Flynn went on, "I was surprised too when he decided to stay in New York. And I can't really ask him why. I'm not high enough in the hierarchy to question him. Last night, Francois just showed up at my apartment and told me to pack my things because I'd be living with the Head. I didn't have a choice." Flynn sighed, then brightened. "I'm just thankful I won't be living alone with him. Hailey is here too, and she's transferring to NYE this school year."
The Dalton side gate was already open, and Flynn led them through it. It was closer than going all the way around to the main gate.
"Hailey! Michael! Our guests are here!" Flynn shouted as they stepped into the spacious garden of the Dalton Villa.
In the center of the garden stood a fixed gazebo-style canopy with a round table underneath. Michael and Hailey were already seated there, waiting. Several staff hovered discreetly nearby, and an entire spread of food had been laid out on a separate buffet table.
It didn't look like a casual, last-minute lunch... it looked like a small, carefully prepared garden feast.
"Were you expecting visitors, Flynn?" Evadne asked quietly as they walked toward the canopy.
"Nope. Just you two," Flynn replied.
"Michael, Casadin and Evadne brought some food," Flynn said when they reached the canopy, lifting the platter a little. "What is this, bro?" he asked, glancing back at Casadin.
"Buffalo wings," Casadin said, trying his best not to laugh with Michael sitting just a few feet away.
"Princess, that hurts," he hissed under his breath when Evadne pinched his side sharply.
"It's your favorite, right?" Evadne asked Flynn, ignoring Casadin's complaint.
"Yes... and thank God you brought them," Flynn said, grinning. He handed the platter to a nearby staff member, who carried it toward the buffet.
Flynn then stepped forward again, ushering them closer to the table where Michael and Hailey sat.
"Hi, Hailey. Mr. Heavensblade," Evadne greeted politely.
"Hi, Evadne," Hailey replied with a formal smile.
It was very different from how warm and bright she'd been at Evadne's birthday party just over a week ago.
Hailey was dressed in a chic, formal dress, and Michael wore a suit... sharp, composed, as if he'd just stepped out of a boardroom. In contrast, Evadne was in simple white shorts and the oversized blue polo shirt she'd stolen from Casadin, while Casadin himself wore a casual shirt and lounge pants.
"Just call me Vee," Evadne said with a genuine smile in Hailey's direction. "Flynn's friends are our friends too."
Hailey nodded and offered a small smile in return... a polite, practiced smile that never reached her eyes.
Because of how different Hailey's attitude was now compared to their first meeting, Evadne instinctively brushed against her mind.
She almost gasped aloud at what she heard.
Hailey was jealous of her... jealous of the way Michael treated her.
Evadne immediately blocked out Hailey's thoughts again, afraid she might blurt something out like what treatment exactly? when, in reality, she hadn't even exchanged twenty proper sentences with Michael in total.
"Please, take your seats," Michael said in his usual cool, even tone, gesturing to the two empty chairs at the round table.
"Thank you, Mr. Heavensblade," Casadin replied, all smooth politeness, and moved to pull out the chair beside Hailey for Evadne.
Evadne sat between Hailey and Casadin, while Casadin took the chair next to her. Flynn slid into the seat between Casadin and Michael.
"Welcome to the neighborhood," Evadne said with a bright smile... mostly directed at Hailey, just to break the ice. "If you ever need anything, or you're bored to death like I am, feel free to drop by our house."
"What do you mean?" Hailey asked, brows knitting.
"Oh... right, I forgot to tell you, Hale," Flynn jumped in, already reaching for the food and loading his plate, especially with the buffalo wings that Casadin had brought. "The property right after this one belongs to the Monteverdes. So we're officially Vee's neighbors now."
Casadin burst into laughter when he caught the faint, very unimpressed flicker in Michael's eyes as Flynn took a big, happy bite of a chicken wing.
"Cas," Evadne hissed, shooting him a warning glare.
Michael's face stayed perfectly stoic, but there was a subtle chill in the air around him. Flynn and Hailey, however, only looked puzzled.
"I'm sorry, I just remembered something," Casadin managed, trying to choke back his laughter. The more he tried, the more his shoulders shook, especially whenever he glanced at Michael's expression.
"Don't mind him," Evadne told Michael... and mostly Hailey... before cutting her eyes sharply at her mate again. "I think he just remembered the first time we met last year."
She turned toward Hailey, explaining, "I was born here in New York, but I actually grew up in France. We moved there when I was six, and only came back last year. So when Casadin and I met for the first time, I already made his nose bleed with a punch and bit him... for calling me a chihuahua."
"No, Princess, I did not call you a chihuahua," Casadin protested immediately.
"Yes, you did," Evadne shot back.
"I called you… a rabid chihuahua," Casadin corrected with a wide grin, clearly proud of himself. Then he looked to Hailey. "Because she very proudly said that if she were a dog, she would be a beautiful and cuddly Maltese. She said that while she was fixing the nose she broke with her punch."
"And I've never regretted that punch," Evadne said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"I know," Casadin said, completely unbothered.
Their teasing continued, slipping easily into reminiscing about the chaos of their first meeting... how they'd immediately clashed, then somehow ended up inseparable. From there, the conversation drifted naturally to the day Evadne first met Flynn and the rest of the Rebels, and Flynn joined in, adding his own animated commentary and side stories.
While Flynn, Evadne, and Casadin laughed and told stories, Hailey sat there, quietly smiling when appropriate... but inside her chest, a tangle of guilt, envy, and reluctant relief kept twisting tighter.
Guilt, because despite how warm Evadne was being toward her, she herself had been cold... borderline hostile... earlier.
Michael was never the type to accept visitors without a prior appointment, especially in a place he considered his private space. But earlier, the moment Flynn mentioned that Evadne and Casadin planned to visit around lunch, Michael had immediately instructed Francois to prepare a full garden lunch for them.
And Hailey's gut told her that it was because it was Evadne.
Instead of being angry at Michael, all that ugly emotion had turned toward Evadne. It had only gotten worse when she learned that the Monteverde property was right next door... that Michael had chosen this villa, of all the properties he could own in New York, knowing exactly who lived beside it.
But as the meal went on, as Evadne kept directing most of her warmth and conversation toward her instead of fighting for Michael's attention, that sharp edge of jealousy slowly dulled.
Evadne wasn't batting her lashes or trying to charm Michael. If anything, she seemed to be deliberately keeping a polite distance from him... never directly seeking his gaze, never leaning toward him when she talked. She was careful… respectful of Hailey's place beside him. Even formally addressing him as Mr. Heavensblade instead of just Michael.
Hailey couldn't help but wonder if Evadne had noticed her coldness earlier and understood the reason behind it.
Then she noticed how incredibly attentive Casadin was to Evadne.
The little things… putting food on her plate without asking... refilling her juice whenever the glass got low... gently tucking stray strands of her hair behind her ear when the breeze blew it across her face... the way they finished each other's sentences like it was nothing.
Another, different kind of jealousy stirred in Hailey's chest. A soft, aching one.
She wished Michael would be that attentive to her. She wished he would watch her that way, move around her that way, exist around her that way.
Her gaze slid sideways to Michael again.
He was almost completely silent. He barely spoke, barely reacted when Flynn or Hailey tried to draw him into the conversation. He answered Hailey with nods, hums, the occasional short reply... never rude, but distant. Detatched.
His fiancée's words barely held his attention.
Yet all the while, his eyes never really left Evadne.
He watched her openly. Calmly. Intently.
No one could call him out on it. Technically, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was the host... he could look wherever he wanted. And he wasn't being inappropriate outwardly... his hands remained on the table, his expression neutral.
Who would dare accuse the head of the Heavensblade clan of staring too much?
But Hailey saw it.
Every time Evadne spoke, every time she laughed or tilted her head, Michael's gaze sharpened, focused. When Evadne talked, his eyes drifted almost unconsciously to her lips, tracking every word that left her mouth... as if, out of everything and everyone in that garden, she was the only one he was truly listening to.