There's an awkward silence, the kind that hangs in the air like a weight, stretching between them until it almost feels suffocating.
Hillary finally breaks it, his voice quieter than he intends, "I came to see if you are settling in fine."
Victoria doesn't answer.
Instead, she turns away without a word, walking slowly back to the bed. The deliberate movement makes it clear she's not retreating out of disinterest, but performing a kind of silent defiance, trying to draw his attention, trying to make him chase her with his eyes.
Hillary watches but doesn't move. He stays rooted near the door, hands stiff at his sides.
"What is it? Don't you like it here?" he asks, his tone steady.
Her reply cuts sharper than he expects. "Don't you want me?"
The question trembles at the edges, carrying hurt she cannot mask. And the truth is that Victoria is hurt.
Or rather, her pride is one that is hurt.
She has always known men to come after her, always felt the pull of their desire, the way their eyes followed her and their words bent around her presence.
She's used to it, to being wanted before she even gives a thought to wanting back. Yet here, after she dared to kiss him.. after she crossed that line.. Hillary had stood there like it was nothing.
He hadn't even responded. The sting of that lingers in her chest, hot and heavy.
But the question isn't only born of pain. It's sharpened by suspicion, meant to pierce into him and make him flinch.
She needs to know if Hillary's heart is really caught on that servant, Aria.
Even though she isn't sure, she saw it.
She saw the look in his eyes earlier, the lingering gaze that clung to her, the way he seemed to beg silently for her attention.
The weight of it was unmistakable, like he wanted nothing more than to pull her close, to close the space between them.
And when she turned her sharp words toward Aria, when she threatened her, it wasn't out of certainty. It was out of doubt, out of unease. Because if it wasn't Aria.. then what else could those stolen looks mean? What else could he be holding back from her?
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she presses when he still doesn't answer immediately.
Hillary exhales slowly, then finally speaks. "I wouldn't call it that. But we're just getting to know each other. We barely know each other. Why would you make a judgment like that?"
His words land carefully, measured, but they do nothing to soften the storm that has already begun to brew between them.
She sits up slowly, her posture deliberate, spine straight as her eyes lock firmly on him. "Now that we're getting to know each other," she begins, her voice carrying a poised steadiness, "was there someone special in your life before this?" The question lands with her gaze pinning him in place.
And in that moment Hillary realizes her suspicion is real. She is truly wondering about Aria, and he knows if such a thing ever spread, the consequences would be harsh.
His parents would be furious, and it wouldn't be him who suffered most, but Aria, and that is something he cannot let happen.
"No," he says firmly, his voice steady, his eyes fixed on hers without wavering. The denial comes out quick, almost too quick.
He counters with his own question, trying to shift the spotlight. "What about you, was there?" The words come not out of genuine interest, but meant to divert her attention away from him.
"Yes," she answers, and her voice drops into something softer, sweeter, designed to disarm. "You."
The single word lands with unnerving weight, dripping with allure. "I know it might sound crazy, but all my life it has always been you. Nothing makes me happier than the fact that I get to be with you now, Hillary." Her tone is silken, pulling at him, shaping itself into something both tender and possessive. "And since you didn't have anyone special, then it shouldn't be hard to build something of our own."
She rises from the bed, each step measured, closing the space between them with her eyes never once leaving his.
They cling to him like shackles, as if daring him to look away. "So let not our marriage feel like it's an arranged marriage," she continues, her words pressing in on him with quiet insistence. "And since we have a few days until it's due, let's date. At least we can be boyfriend and girlfriend before we're husband and wife. Let's go on dates."
The request catches Hillary off guard. He hadn't expected her to pivot like this, to soften suspicion into something that almost sounds like longing.
For a moment, he has no answer, his mind caught in the pressure of her closeness, his wolf reacting to her.
But before he can speak, salvation comes in the form of a sound... a knock on the door. His breath escapes in relief, his chest tightening around the distraction. "Yes?" he answers quickly, clinging to the interruption, desperate for the escape it offers from the tightening snare around him.
The door opens, and with it, his relief shatters. The moment his eyes fall on the figure standing there, he almost wishes he had stayed silent.
"Luna asks me to call you down for dinner," Aria says evenly, directing the words to Victoria.
Hillary feels the ground tilt beneath him.
But Victoria, standing so close, doesn't even flinch at the intrusion. She acts as though nothing was said, her focus fixed entirely on him, her eyes refusing to shift.
She steps closer, erasing what little space remains, her lips curving faintly. "I'm happy there was no one special in your life before we met, and now we get to be boyfriend and girlfriend before we marry," she says, her voice rich with certainty, her gaze daring him to deny her.
Then she rises onto her toes and presses her lips against his, claiming the moment, claiming him.
Hillary's heart lurches violently, pounding against his ribs. She feels it at once under her palm as she presses her hand firmly to his chest.
A soft chuckle escapes her, sharp in its sweetness. "Why is your heart beating so fast? Are you nervous because of me?"
Behind them, the door closes with a muted click.