Chapter 225
When I entered our bedroom, Elowen was lounging on the bed, a book open before her. She looked up as I entered, a smile lighting her face that eased some of the tension I’d been carrying.
“Now look who’s back early,” she teased, setting the book aside.
I crossed to her, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips. “Elowen, I need your help. Can you help me?”
She straightened, immediately alert to the seriousness in my tone. Yes, I mean, of course, why won’t I?‘ Concern shadowed her
features. “What do you need?”
“Vesper, Frost’s mother visited today.”
“What?” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Why was she here?” The question came quick, curious.
“She needed financial aid, and Frost kind of walked in on that. She said some really stupid things, but Frost is hurting. Maybe because I didn’t tell him about her previous visit. I had just been trying to protect him from the little bitch, or it might also be the fact that he walked in on his mother undressing before me.” I added the last part quickly, needing to be completely honest. “I wasn’t
going to do anything.”
know. I know you won’t,” she assured me, her trust a balm to my guilt.
“I want you to talk to him.” The request came out more abruptly than I’d intended.
“And why do you think he would listen to me?” There was no reluctance in her question, just genuine curiosity.
“Because he loves you and he would only listen to you alone.” The admission was easier than I’d expected. “He needs someone to talk to, and that someone is most definitely not me.”
She considered this for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, I can do that
Relief washed through me. “Thank you; you can spend the night there if you wish to.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Are you sure?… is that what you want?”
“Yes, it is.” I meant it, despite the twinge of something that might have been jealousy.
She rose from the bed, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “I’ll go to him now. Don’t wait up.”
As she left, I wondered briefly if I’d made the right decision. But Frost was hurting, and my pride was a small price to pay if Elowen could help heal that hurt.
Elowen
Thad never seen Vesper, Frost’s mother. I was pretty sure I hated her but Frost still cared about this lunatic. The thought of what she’d done–having an affair with her own son, Adrian–made my stomach turn.
I paused outside his door, gathering my courage before knocking. When no answer came, I tried the handle. It wasn’t locked.
Frost’s quarters were dimly lit, a single lamp casting long shadows across the sparse furniture. He sat in an armchair by the window, an almost–empty bottle of whiskey dangling from his fingers, staring out at the night sky.
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10:34 Sun, May 4G
Chapter 225
“I didn’t recall letting you in, he said without turning around, his voice rough with alcohol and emotion.
“Well, I let myself in.” I moved closer, taking in the state of him–disheveled, half–drunk, eyes reddened.
Elowen, I think you should leave. I don’t want you to see me like this.” Despite his words, he made no move to make me go.
I gently took the bottle from his unresisting fingers, setting it on a side table out of reach. “Please stop drinking.”
He looked up at me then, his ice–blue eyes clouded with pain and whiskey. “She hates me, Elowen, and I don’t even understand what I did so wrong; I was my father’s favorite, so what?, how is that my fault, and all these years, she just keeps on punishing me for
that.”
My heart ached for him. I knelt beside his chair, taking his hands in mine. “She has no right to, not after what she did. Frost, she isn’t worth this.”
