The moment Lillianne stepped out to take a call, the atmosphere in the mansion seemed to exhale with relief. Xander, running a frustrated hand through his hair, headed upstairs. He didn't even knock—he never did.
Erin was curled up on her side of the bed, scrolling through her phone like nothing in the world had happened. As if she hadn't just stormed off in a rage after being wrongly accused, as if her pride hadn't just been dragged through the mud.
"You should have just apologized," Xander said coolly, leaning against the doorframe.
Erin didn't even look up. "And you should have grown a conscience."
He ignored the jab and pushed off the frame, walking into the room. "You know you didn't have to make it worse. A simple sorry would have ended it."
That got her attention. She sat up slowly, meeting his gaze with one of pure disbelief. "You want me to apologize for something I didn't do? You saw her pour the drink on herself. You saw her smirk, Xander. Don't pretend you didn't."
Xander's jaw tightened. "It doesn't matter. She's—"
"Your fiancée?" Erin cut in, letting out a cold, hollow laugh. "Now you say that like you're proud. Everyone knows you can't stand her. The press knows. The staff knows. I'm sure even the rats in the attic know. But now you want me to treat her like royalty?"
"It's about appearances," he snapped. "If you disrespect her, it reflects on me."
"Oh, please," she muttered under her breath, turning away.
"Don't you dare walk away from this conversation."
Erin turned back, but her expression had changed. It wasn't anger anymore—it was ice. Polite, distant, and empty. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to walk away while you were speaking. It won't happen again, sir."
Xander's eye twitched. "Stop that."
"Stop what, sir?"
He hated it. The way she said "sir" in every sentence, as if mocking him with the illusion of obedience. But he couldn't call her out—not while Lillianne was still in the house. Who knows, she could be eavesdropping from the door right now. He'd lost count of how many times she had done that.
Just then, the devil herself returned and yelled out "Xandie, I'm done with my call!"
Xander flinched.
"Don't call me that." That was the first thing he said after he returned.
"You never used to mind," she pouted.
"That's when I still thought you were tolerable." He muttered and it was almost not audible but she heard it.
Her pout deepened, but before she could start another performance, Erin also came down. She didn't want it to look like they were fighting so she perked up with a suspiciously gleeful smile. "There's this pastry shop I saw recently. It looks adorable. I want to go there this afternoon. You'll come with me, won't you?"
"What's the name?" Xander asked annoyed.
"Sugar and Thorn.
Erin's breath caught.
Xander raised a brow. "Sugar and what?"
"Sugar and Thorn. Everyone's raving about it! I want to try their cinnamon brioche and that gold-dusted strawberry tart."
Xander shrugged. "Fine. Whatever."
Lillianne clapped her hands like a delighted child. "Yay! And Erin should come too. I mean she's supposed to keep an eye on you. After all, what's a proper outing without your maid trailing behind?"
Erin managed a stiff smile, all while her mind spun. That place was filled with her people and there was no doubt that they'll think that she lured them there and try to make the most of it.
They'll probably try to fish out answers from them or they might even try to hold them captive to use them to lure their parents out. And that seemed pretty easy but then again, she started to doubt it. There was no guarantee they'll let them go especially her mom.
Her dad had died in his family's hands trying to clear their name. Her mom never got over it and had been seeking revenge ever since. Even though, the main goal was to clear their name and gain back the power that was theirs in the first place, she doubted her mom would let him go because she had no reason to.
But for some reason, Erin didn't want that.
She had to go with them. She had no choice. She knew too much now to risk letting Lillianne go alone. She was clearly naive and Xander still didn't trust her enough to tell her the full truth on why he had those documents. Telling them to not go would arose unnecessary suspicions.
So she nodded agreeing to go with them. Maybe she could prevent her people from capturing him. She was still trying to find the right excuse to use because she couldn't just tell them to not do anything when he was in their territory and they had the upper hand.
She just hoped she could convince them, to leave everything to her and let her handle it.