Chapter 5 The Weight Of velvet

The morning of the party arrived with heavy heat that trapped the tension inside the Hale mansion.

I woke up to find my emerald silk dress still draped at the foot of my bed.

In the dim dawn light, its deep green color almost looked black.

The memory of glass breaking downstairs at 3:00 AM felt like a fever dream, but the hollow ache in my chest was very real.

When I finally made my way to the kitchen, the air smelled of expensive coffee and something metallic-the scent of a cleaning crew at work.

A woman in a gray uniform was carefully vacuuming by the library door. My eyes darted to the floor.

There, on the edge between the marble foyer and the mahogany library floor, was a faint, jagged scratch in the wood.

It was the only sign left of what had shattered in the middle of the night.

My mother was already at the breakfast bar, looking unusually pale.

She cradled a cup of herbal tea, her fingers shaking slightly around the porcelain.

"Morning, honey," she said, her voice sounding thin. "Did you sleep okay? This house has so many strange noises at night, doesn't it?"

"I heard something break," I said, sliding onto the stool next to her. "Was everything okay?"

She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. They were red, as if she had been up as late as I had.

"Just a vase, Jane. Richard accidentally knocked it over while looking for some papers. You know how he gets when he's stressed about work."

Richard wasn't the type to "accidentally" knock anything over. He moved deliberately. I looked back at the scratch on the floor. It was too deep for a vase.

It looked like something heavy had been dragged or thrown.

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"He had an early meeting at the firm. He won't be back until it's time to leave for the fundraiser tonight." She squeezed my hand. "But he told me to tell you how excited he is for you to go to Tyler's party.

He wants you to make friends, Jane. He wants you to feel like this is your home."

"He wants me to look like I belong," I quietly corrected her.

She flinched, pulling her hand away to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Is that so bad? Wanting a fresh start? Your father made choices, Jane.

Richard is offering us a way out of those choices' shadow. Just for tonight, try to be the girl who lives here, not the girl waiting for a call from prison."

I didn't answer.

I couldn't.

The "shadow" she mentioned was my father's life, and no amount of Italian marble or emerald silk could make me forget the way he used to tuck me in and say that the truth was all that mattered.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze. I avoided the library and the common rooms.

Most of all, I avoided Edmund.

I could hear him moving through the house-the occasional thump of a door, the sound of his car engine revving in the driveway before he sped off toward the school for a pre-party meeting.

Every time I thought about the photo he had left in the box, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold hand.

He wasn't there for your father. He was there for mine.

If Richard's private investigator was at the prison, it meant Richard was creating the "incident" my father was involved in.

But why?

To keep me in line?

To keep my father quiet?

The questions buzzed in my mind like vultures, waiting for me to tire out.

By 7:00 PM, the transformation began. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room, the emerald dress fitting my curves in a way that made me feel like a stranger.

The silk felt cool and heavy, like armor.

I styled my hair in loose waves, pinned back on one side with a silver clip, and applied a dark berry lipstick that made me look older-sharper.

A soft knock at the door startled me. I expected my mother or Richard, ready to give me one last lecture about "liability."

Instead, I opened the door to find Edmund.

He wore slim-fit dark jeans and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked effortlessly dangerous.

His eyes traveled from my face down to the hem of the dress and back up again.

For a brief moment, the coldness in his gaze faltered, replaced by something dark and intense.

"You look..." He cleared his throat, the mask of indifference snapping back into place. "You look like you're ready to play the part."

"I don't feel like myself," I admitted, my hand moving to the delicate silk at my hip.

"Good. You shouldn't. The girl you were wouldn't survive tonight."

He stepped into my room, closing the door behind him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "You forgot these."

I opened the box to find a pair of diamond studs.

They weren't huge, but they were as clear as ice, catching the light and casting tiny rainbows against the walls.

"I can't take these, Edmund. They're too much."

"They belonged to my mother," he said, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Richard doesn't know I still have them.

If you wear them, he'll think he bought them for you and forgot.

He buys so much jewelry for people he's trying to own that he loses track."

I glanced at the diamonds and then at him. "Why are you doing this? You've spent every moment since I arrived trying to make me feel unwelcome.

Now you're giving me your mother's jewelry?"

Edmund stepped closer, the scent of cedarwood and something sharp, like rain on asphalt, filling the small space between us.

He reached out, his thumb brushing against my jawline as he tilted my head up.

His touch was electric, sending a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Because," he said, searching my eyes with a desperate intensity. "If you're going into the lion's den, you should at least have something that hasn't been paid for by the lion.

Think of it as a reminder that not everything in this house is a lie."

He took the earrings from the box and, with surprising gentleness, leaned in to put them in for me.

His fingers were warm against my earlobes, his breath brushing over my neck.

I held my breath, afraid that any movement would shatter the fragile truce between us.

"There," he whispered, his face inches from mine. "Now you look like a Hale. Even if you aren't one."

He stepped back, the momentary softness disappearing. "I'm driving.

Get your bag.

We're already late."

The drive to Tyler's house was silent. Edmund drove his Audi with reckless precision, weaving through the North Shore's winding backroads as if he were trying to outrun the car itself.

I watched the moonlight dance over the dashboard, thinking about the photograph hidden in my bedside drawer.

"What did you mean?" I suddenly asked as we pulled into the long, car-lined driveway of a mansion that made the Hale estate look modest. "About the man in the photo being there for your father?"

Edmund didn't look at me. He killed the engine, and the night's silence rushed into the car. "My father doesn't just hire people to watch his enemies, Jane.

He hires them to watch his family. That man, Miller, has been following me since I turned sixteen. But lately, he hasn't been following me. He's been going to the prison."

"To see my dad?"

"To ensure your dad stays where he is," Edmund said, finally turning to face me. "Richard didn't just happen to find your mother.

He sought her out.

He needed leverage.

Your father was a witness to something in the firm's past-something that could ruin Richard.

By bringing you and your mother into the house, Richard didn't just rescue you. He took hostages."

The air in the car suddenly felt thin. "Hostages?"

"Think about it, Jane.

Why would a billionaire marry a waitress with a husband in prison? Out of the goodness of his heart?" Edmund let out a bitter laugh. "He bought your silence by buying your life. And as long as you're under his roof, your father will keep quiet to keep you safe."

I felt like I was falling, the world was spinning out of control.

My mother's "fairytale" was a kidnapping. My "scholarship" was a hush-money payment.

"Why are you telling me this now?" I gasped.

"Because Jessica is going to try to break you tonight," Edmund said, reaching across the console to grab my hand.

His grip was tight and steadying. "She knows about the prison.

She's going to use it to humiliate you. If you know the truth-the real truth-she can't hurt you.

The only way to win in this world is to know the secrets before they're used against you."

He let go of my hand and opened his door. "Wipe your eyes. Put on that mask I saw in the mirror. We're going in."

The party overwhelmed the senses.

The house was a glass-and-steel monstrosity overlooking the ocean, filled with the elite of Blackwell Academy.

Music pulsed through the floor, a heavy bass that felt like a second heartbeat.

The air was a mix of expensive vodka, chlorine from the indoor pool, and heavy floral arrangements.

As we walked through the front door, the crowd seemed to part. It wasn't just Edmund's status; it was the two of us together.

The "scholarship rat" and the "Prince of Blackwell."

I felt the weight of a hundred stares.

I spotted Jessica across the room, standing with a group of girls in silk dresses.

She held a martini glass, her eyes narrowing as she took in my appearance-the emerald dress, the diamonds, and the way Edmund's hand rested possessively on the small of my back.

"Don't leave my side," Edmund muttered under his breath.

"I can handle myself," I whispered back, although my knees felt weak.

We navigated through the crowd, with Edmund playing the bored aristocrat perfectly.

He nodded to people and exchanged brief, meaningless pleasantries while keeping me close.

I felt like a trophy, but for the first time, I didn't mind. It felt like a shield.

Then the music shifted, and the crowd moved toward the outdoor terrace for the "midnight toast."

As we stepped into the cool night air, Jessica blocked our path.

She looked stunning in a white bandage dress, her blonde hair shimmering under the patio lights.

Yet, her eyes held a venom that wealth couldn't disguise.

"Edmund, darling," she purred, ignoring me completely. "I thought you said you were done with charity work.

Bringing the help to a party? That's a bit much, even for you."

The circle of students around us fell silent. I felt heat rise from embarrassment, but I remembered Edmund's words. She can't hurt you if you know the truth.

"She isn't the help, Jessica," Edmund said, his voice smooth. "She's my sister. Or hadn't you heard the news? Our parents are making it official."

Jessica's smile didn't waver. She turned her gaze to me, her eyes scanning the emerald silk. "Oh, I heard.

I also heard about the incident at the prison yesterday. It must be hard, Jane, wondering if your father will survive the night while you're here wearing diamonds you didn't pay for."

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Someone whispered "Prison?" and soon the word spread through the terrace like a virus.

I looked at Jessica, and for a moment, she didn't seem like a queen bee.

She looked like a girl desperately trying to hold her ground in a changing world.

"My father is a good man who made a mistake," I said, my voice steady and clear in the sudden silence. "At least he's honest about who he is. Can you say the same for your family, Jessica? Or should we discuss why your father's firm is currently under federal investigation?"

The color drained from Jessica's face. She looked at Edmund, then back at me, her mouth hanging open in shock.

I wasn't sure if her father was under investigation-it was just a guess based on Riley's comments about local business gossip.

But the way she recoiled told me I'd struck a nerve.

"You... you little-"

"That's enough," Edmund interrupted, his voice cold.

He stepped in front of me, his presence imposing over Jessica. "The next time you speak to her, remember whose house she lives in. And whose name she's going to be carrying."

He turned to me, his eyes shining with fierce pride. "I think we've had enough of this party. Don't you?"

He didn't wait for my answer. He took my hand and led me back through the house, past the music, the stares, and the whispers.

We didn't stop until we were in the Audi, the doors locking with that familiar, pressurized thud.

The silence in the car felt different this time. It wasn't suffocating; it was a relief.

"You lied," Edmund said, looking at me as he started the engine. "Her father isn't under investigation. At least, not yet."

"I took a page from the Hale playbook," I said, leaning back against the seat. "I used a secret to win."

Edmund studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable.

Then he reached out and took my hand, tracing the line of my knuckles with his thumb.

"You're learning," he whispered. "But be careful, Jane. Once you start playing the game, you can't ever stop."

As we pulled out of the driveway, I looked back at the glass mansion.

I had won the battle, but I knew the war was just beginning.

As I felt the weight of the diamonds in my ears, I realized I wasn't just a hostage anymore. I was a player.

But as we drove into the dark, I couldn't shake the feeling that the most dangerous person in my life wasn't Richard or Jessica.

It was the boy next to me, holding my hand as if he were the only thing keeping me from falling.