CHAPTER 146: THE TOSS

"You’ve got ten seconds to vanish." Alaric’s voice was a blade of fire against the cold air.

The drapes of the decor on the terrace rustled behind him, brushing against the tall candle holder, tugging at the hem of his overcoat on Aveline’s shoulder.

Dahlia’s golden scarf fluttered dramatically, as if caught in the storm she had created. Her expression wavered, just briefly, before she forced a laugh.

Aveline instinctively reached for Alaric’s hand, trying to calm the fury she sensed in his stillness. But her small gesture only poured fuel on the fire in Dahlia’s eyes.

"Vanish?" Dahlia echoed, her tone sharp, laced with poison. "Alaric, are you blind? This woman is seducing you in plain sight."

Aveline remained silent, her fingers releasing Alaric’s hand. The wind swept a loose strand of hair across her face, and she tucked it behind her ear with quiet elegance. Her eyes flicked to Dahlia, not startled, not shaken, just... observant.

She recalled that Dahlia was Seraphina’s cousin. She couldn’t help but guard herself. What if Seraphina had planned to cause trouble?

But Aveline didn’t need to seduce Alaric when he was wrapping up his work early just to spend a few minutes with her.

Alaric tilted his head ever so slightly, studying Dahlia as if she were an alien object that had wandered into his space.

"I don’t recall inviting anybody into my personal affairs," he said, already pulling out his phone. His voice was controlled, almost bored, too detached to be safe.

Aveline pressed her lips together, glancing away to stifle a laugh. He hadn’t raised his voice. His calmness held the warning.

Dahlia noticed Aveline’s reaction and was irked further.

"You mean to tell me you rejected my marriage proposal for this?" Dahlia’s tone tightened beneath her smile. "A woman with no shame. Just charm and a face. Congratulations. You’ve officially chosen scandal over legacy."

Aveline turned to face Dahlia fully, hair lifted lightly by the breeze, her eyes clear. She looked composed, elegant even. But the echo of ’just charm and a face’ lingered longer than necessary.

She knew it wasn’t true. And yet... Some wounds were shallow enough to hide but deep enough to sting.

Nevertheless, she had no intention of engaging in a spat, but the pieces began to fall into place.

Seraphina had seen her and Alaric on the terrace earlier. And now, Dahlia was playing her role a little too well.

Was it really a coincidence?

Alaric, on the other hand, seemed completely unimpressed. He spoke into the call, "We have a problem," he said, coolly. "Someone let a psych patient onto the terrace."

He glanced at Aveline, adding under his breath, "Before I toss her off the edge, escort her out." And he ended the call.

Aveline blinked. ’He was joking... right?’

The flicker in Dahlia’s eyes was immediate. She stiffened like glass under pressure, then flashed a saccharine smile, trying to recover control.

"I see. The old Alaric is back," she murmured, her tone filled with false charm. "I had hoped you had matured, become... better. But here you are again. Making poor choices."

Her gaze lingered on Aveline with something too polite to be called hatred. "Miss Laurent," she said, her voice dipped in sugar, "just a word of advice. Women like us don’t chase men. We never need to."

The breeze picked up again, tugging Aveline’s hair across her cheek. She didn’t respond. She didn’t need to.

Then, calmly, as if remembering something, Dahlia turned back to Alaric, "Mr. Lancaster," she said, voice smooth. "Lovely meeting you."

Alaric didn’t react. No flicker of recognition. Just that unreadable stillness that was more dismissive than any insult.

Dahlia’s smile faltered for half a second. But she didn’t let it fall. She swallowed her pride, lifted her chin, and turned without another word.

How was she any inferior to Aveline Laurent, a divorcee?

She wasn’t stupid. She had only entertained the idea of marrying Alaric because she thought he had changed, amiable and manageable. And like Seraphina, she could enjoy the spoils of the Lancaster fortune without lifting a finger.

But... She glanced at Alaric one last time. Marrying into another political family was power, yes, but the Lancasters... They were old money and power.

...

Aveline was more confused than ever. Dahlia appeared twice in front of her, insulted her in polished words, said a bunch of nonsense to Alaric, and left with ’Lovely meeting you.’

"Err... she was being kind enough to offer a marriage to you, Alaric." She tried to tease him.

Well, that didn’t entertain Alaric. "Who was she?"

Aveline looked at him, baffled. Though a cousin, Dahlia was like a sister to Seraphina. The way the cousins got along, and Dahlia was demanding a necklace, she would have attended the wedding and other activities.

Why doesn’t Alaric have any idea?

And the rejected marriage proposal?

All of it only led to Aveline wondering about Alaric’s relationship with his family members.

Before she could answer Alaric, there were hurried steps in the corridor, and three people rushed onto the terrace.

Ezra arrived with the guards.

They looked around, and when they didn’t find anybody else, they looked at them.

Aveline pointed at the edge, "He tossed her." She said with all seriousness.

"What!?" Ezra was shocked.

The guards looked at each other without understanding it.

Just as Ezra was about to run towards the edge in panic, Alaric gently smacked Aveline, who pouted at first and then sighed.

"I heard Mrs. Lancaster address her as Dahlia Astor, Seraphina Astor’s cousin," she revealed.

Ezra signaled the guards to leave, and he stayed, sensing a problem.

Alaric had no idea about Dahlia Astor. His worry was, "Why was she getting personal with you?"

Aveline sat down and shrugged, "I don’t know. I saw her for the first time in the hall. She is good at coating insults with sugar."

And there he got another reason. Alaric glanced at Ezra, who understood the command without words.

Once Ezra left, Alaric sat down. The air between them had tensed. So he waited while Aveline was checking something on her phone, and then she turned to him.

She cautiously spoke, "I know I shouldn’t ask about your family or personal life... Yet. But I need to know how your relationship with your sister-in-law is."

"I saw her for the second time. Never spoke to her." He didn’t have anything else to tell about his relationship.

Aveline opened her mouth and closed it again. Excluding his interest in her, she had never seen him treat anybody badly unless they stepped on his nerves. She had even seen him treat his employees and even waiters at restaurants calmly.

Then?

Why was his relationship with his family members so bad?

Alaric read the change in her expression accurately. And he didn’t need proof to link how Dahlia appeared there. "It’s Seraphina Astor’s doing, isn’t it?"

Aveline snapped out of her thoughts. She didn’t want to complicate his relationship with his family. But she also found it reasonable to share the problems that surfaced due to his family.

She passed her mobile to him as she spoke, "For the hand-wrapped return gifts, I had received a list of guests. No Astor name is on the list." Dahlia was invited later.

He deduced the rest. He didn’t check the list, he trusted her. But before he could say something, she continued.

"Maybe I’m overthinking. I doubt everything nowadays." She was aware of how much Damien’s actions had affected her.

A beat of silence pressed them harder before he broke it, "I’m sorry." He apologized. He had thought he was clearing the air with his family, but he forgot his half-brother and sister-in-law were also family.

"I should’ve seen this coming," he murmured. "My silence gives people like her room to twist things. I didn’t mean for you to get dragged into the mess my family leaves behind... but this isn’t an excuse."

Aveline didn’t know how to respond to that. It wasn’t his mistake. She couldn’t help but worry... What was behind all that glamor and havoc he was creating years ago?

Was it the noise he chased to bury his feelings, to bury the truth he didn’t want to see or feel?

Feigning a casual smile, "I don’t take the loose tongue of people to my heart." She tried to cheer him up.

Alaric watched her carefully, the way she smiled like nothing touched her. But he knew better. He knew that quiet strength often came from carrying too much alone.

The Astors had crossed a line. Astors weren’t his family to solve anything. He wouldn’t allow them to think they could do anything just because one of them was sitting at the top of the food chain.

He would burn their whole damn game to the ground.

"Sunshine," he said quietly. He met her eyes, that false smile still on her lips, and he hated that she had to wear it.

Because of him.

He reached over, brushing a stray hair from her face, his thumb lingering at her cheek.

"Those people," he said softly. "They don’t get to define you. You’re not here because of them. You’re here because I chose you. Again and again, I will."

The wind rustled around them, but for a moment, all she could hear was the certainty in his voice.