Chapter 14: The Handkerchief and the Unspoken Truth
Xanthea sat back in her seat, trying to ignore the swirl of emotions that had overtaken her. The events of the day felt like a whirlwind, and now, with her brothers pressing her for answers, she was forced to confront the truth she’d been avoiding.
“Of course not!” Samuel’s response to her question about the jade was immediate, but his tone had a knowing edge to it. “But—” He paused, looking at Xanthea with a raised eyebrow, as though he’d figured something out.
Ethan picked up on it too, his expression sharpening. “It looks like there’s more to your relationship with Orion than just a random encounter, right?”
Xanthea’s stomach churned slightly. How could she explain the complexity of her relationship with Orion? They were connected by a past neither of them fully acknowledged, yet here they were, entangled in a game neither of them had intended to play. “What else would it be?” she asked, though the words felt weak even as they left her mouth.
But Samuel wasn’t ready to let it go. “Although it sounds a bit far-fetched… does Orion have feelings for you?”
The question hit harder than she expected. Xanthea’s heart skipped a beat. “Huh? What are you talking about? We’re just friends.” She forced herself to meet their eyes, but even she could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
Ethan, ever the perceptive one, wasn’t convinced. “Come on, Xan. The way he looked at you, how he reacted—there’s definitely something there. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s falling for you.”
Xanthea shifted uncomfortably, the weight of their scrutiny sinking in. She could feel her pulse quicken as her thoughts raced. Falling for me? The idea seemed absurd, but then she thought back to that moment in the banquet hall, when Orion’s gaze had been so intense, so focused on her. When she’d handed him the handkerchief, there had been something in his eyes—something that lingered. Something she hadn’t been able to name, but it unsettled her in a way she couldn’t ignore.
But no. That couldn’t be it. It wasn’t possible.
She pushed the thought aside, focusing on the present. “You guys are overthinking it,” she said, but the words felt hollow. She glanced out of the window, watching the city blur past. Could it be? She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself or them, but the idea of Orion Lockwood—someone so guarded, so distant—having feelings for her was a concept she hadn’t fully considered.
Her mind wandered back to the moment when she’d applied the cream to his neck, the way he’d reacted, the way the air had thickened between them. There was no denying that something had shifted, but feelings? No, that was a step too far.
She sighed, resting her head against the cool glass of the car window. She didn’t have time for this. Not now.
As the city lights flickered by, she forced herself to focus on the path ahead, on her plans. Orion’s future, her future—everything was in flux. And this strange tension between them was just one more piece of the puzzle she had to navigate. She couldn’t afford to get distracted by whatever was happening between them. She had bigger things to worry about.
“Let’s just focus on the next step,” she said, steering the conversation back to the task at hand. “There’s still the matter of the Lockwood Group. We need to figure out what happens now that Timothy’s out of the picture.”
Samuel and Ethan exchanged glances, but they didn’t press her further on the topic of Orion. It was clear that something had shifted, but for now, they let it go.
As Xanthea sat there, still processing everything that had happened, one thing was certain: whether or not Orion had feelings for her, her role in this game had just changed. And the stakes? They had never been higher.
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