The dining room of the Thorne Estate was not a place for eating; it was a place for negotiation. A massive table of black obsidian stretched across the room, reflecting the flickering light of a dozen silver candelabras.
Ava sat at the far end, feeling like a doll in her emerald silk. The necklace—the silver serpent—felt heavy, a cold weight reminding her of the price Julian had paid for her presence.
"You're staring, Marcus. It's unrefined."
Julian's voice cut through the silence like a whetstone. He sat at the head of the table, his posture relaxed but his eyes alert. He swirled a glass of dark red wine, the light catching the sharp planes of his face.
Across from Ava sat Marcus Thorne. If Julian was ice, Marcus was a slow-burning fire. He had the same Thorne eyes, but while Julian's were a freezing sea, Marcus's were a muddy, turbulent grey. He hadn't stopped looking at Ava since she entered the room.
"I can't help it, cousin," Marcus said, his voice a smooth, oily drawl. "I'm simply trying to recall which charity gala or debutante ball I met Miss Miller at. It's strange. I have an encyclopedic memory for faces, and yet yours... it's a blank slate."
Ava felt her palms grow damp. She looked at Julian, but he was busy cutting a piece of rare steak, seemingly indifferent. He was leaving her to the wolves.
"You wouldn't have met me there," Ava said, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I don't frequent balls. I prefer quiet spaces. Libraries, mostly."
Marcus's eyebrows arched. "A library. How quaint. And how did a quiet girl from a library manage to catch the heart of a man who hasn't felt a pulse in a decade?"
"Luck," Julian interjected, his voice dropping an octave. He reached across the table and covered Ava's hand with his own. His skin was warm, his grip firm—almost a warning. "And a shared appreciation for things that are... well-preserved."
Marcus leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Well-preserved. Like the Thorne family secrets? You know, Julian, there's a rumor going around the board. A story about a missing ledger. A diary, perhaps?"
The air in the room vanished. Ava felt Julian's fingers tighten on hers. The pressure was almost painful, a silent command: Don't blink. Don't breathe.
"Rumors are the currency of the bored, Marcus," Julian said, his expression a mask of bored arrogance. "If you spent as much time managing your acquisitions as you did listening to gossip, perhaps your division wouldn't be failing."
Marcus's face flushed a deep, angry red. He turned his gaze back to Ava, looking for a weak point. "And what about you, Ava? Are you an acquisition? Or are you just another secret hidden in the stone walls of this house?"
Ava felt a spark of anger overcome her fear. She looked Marcus directly in the eye, the same way she looked at a piece of rotting wood she was determined to save.
"I'm the woman who knows exactly what Julian is worth," she said, her voice ringing clear in the hollow room. "Which is more than you could ever afford."
A heavy silence followed. Then, to Ava's shock, Julian let out a low, genuine chuckle. He brought her hand to his lips, his eyes locked on hers as he kissed her knuckles. The touch was electric, a jolt of heat that made her heart stutter for a reason that had nothing to do with the contract.
"Careful, Marcus," Julian whispered, his eyes dancing with a dark, dangerous light. "My fiancée has a bite. I'd hate to see you get hurt."
Marcus stood abruptly, his chair screeching against the marble. "This isn't over, Julian. A girl like that doesn't belong here. Eventually, the dust will settle, and we'll see what's really underneath."
As Marcus slammed the door behind him, Ava tried to pull her hand away, but Julian didn't let go.
"That was a dangerous move," Julian said, his voice now cold again, though he didn't release her.
"I was protecting the investment," Ava snapped, her chest heaving.
Julian stood and walked around the table until he was standing directly over her. He reached out and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.
"You did well," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips for a fraction of a second. "But remember, Ava. In this house, the only person more dangerous than Marcus... is me."