Chapter 38
Chapter 38:
The atmosphere in the dining room had thickened to the consistency of molasses. Every breath Eliza took was saturated with Dallas — his scent, his heat, his overwhelming presence.
He turned her face toward him with a gentle pressure of his fingers beneath her chin. His gaze dropped to her lips. His pupils were blown wide, swallowing the dark irises almost entirely.
Eliza understood, with sudden and absolute clarity, that she was about to kiss him. Not a staged kiss. A real one. The kind that leaves a mark on the soul.
Panic hit her like a bucket of ice water.
If she kissed him, she surrendered her leverage. She surrendered the boundary. She became the vulnerable girl who fell for her own savior.
She scrambled off his lap, nearly tripping over her own feet.
“I — I have homework!” she blurted out.
She fled. She literally ran from the dining room, down the hallway, and into the sanctuary of the study. She pulled the door shut behind her and leaned against it, her heart hammering against her ribs like something caged.
From the dining room, she heard a low, dark chuckle. He knew. He knew exactly what she had felt.
Eliza paced the study, muttering under her breath. “Stupid. He’s a shark. Don’t bleed in the water p>
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out — and the name on the screen made her blood run cold.
𝗠o𝘳𝘦 𝗇о𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘀 о𝗇.со𝘮
Victoria Hyde.
Anson’s mother.
Eliza’s thumb hovered over the decline button. She hadn’t spoken to Victoria since the day she left the Hyde estate with nothing but a single suitcase. She answered anyway.
“Hello, Mrs. Hyde p>
“Eliza, darling.” Victoria’s voice purred through the speaker — false-sweet, laced with something corrosive. “We haven’t heard from you. We were beginning to worry you’d fallen off the face of the earth p>
“I’ve been busy,” Eliza said, keeping her voice neutral, gripping the phone tight.
“Well, you simply must clear your schedule,” Victoria continued. “Anson and Claudine’s Engagement Gala is this Saturday. At The Plaza p>
The room tilted. “I don’t think I should go p>
“Nonsense,” Victoria said, the sweetness evaporating in an instant. “Unless you’re still bitter? Or ashamed of your new life? People are talking, Eliza. They say you’re hiding. That you’re destitute. Claudine was most insistent — she wants to show everyone how generous she is. To welcome all of Anson’s past into their future p>
The implication was unmistakable. This was not an olive branch. It was a power play, dressed in one.
The manipulation was pure Victoria — baiting her pride with surgical precision.
“I’ll send the digital invite,” Victoria added, her tone sharpening at the edges. “Bring a guest, if you have one p>
The line went dead.
An email notification arrived immediately. Eliza opened it. The invitation was gold and cream, ostentatious and loud.
The Union of Anson Hyde & Claudine Chapman.
Eliza stared at the screen.
Going meant facing Anson. It meant facing all the rumors head-on. But not going meant admitting defeat — hiding in the shadows while they held a celebration over her grave.
Her phone buzzed again.