Erin watched them leave the pastry shop, her fingers trembling as she kept a firm smile on her lips until the bell jingled above the door. Once the black SUV turned the corner, her shoulders slumped.
She had done it.
She had convinced her people to back down—barely. It had taken every ounce of her composure and persuasion, and even then, they'd only agreed because she'd promised results. That she was working on something bigger, something better. Something that would bring the kingdom justice without spilling another drop of blood.
Now, that promise weighed on her like an anchor.
She wasn't sure whether she felt triumphant or terrified.
Her thoughts spiraled the entire ride back. In the backseat beside Lillianne—who chatted incessantly about the pastries she didn't even eat—Erin sat in silence. Xander occasionally looked at her through the rearview mirror, but she didn't meet his eyes.
By the time they returned to the mansion, Erin's mind was a tangled mess of guilt, dread, and suppressed fury.
Everything she did today was to protect him.
And he didn't even know it.
She spent the day like a ghost. Her movements were mechanical, her words clipped. She prepared dinner with an absent gaze and burnt half of it without even realizing. When Xander walked into the kitchen and called her name, she didn't respond. Not until his voice thundered across the room.
"Erin!"
She blinked, startled, finally turning to him.
He was frowning. "I've been calling your name. Are you okay?"
"Yes, sir," she replied quietly. "Sorry."
He scowled at the title. "Don't call me that. What's going on with you? You've been completely out of it all day."
"Nothing. I'm fine sir."
"You're not fine."
"You seem so sure I'm not. May I ask why sir?"
"You're doing everything I ask without a word, which is not you. You didn't argue once, and you even let Lillianne talk over you at dinner. That's definitely not you."
Erin turned away, wiping her hands on a towel. "Maybe I'm just tired of fighting. Maybe I'm just tired of all the accusations. Maybe I'm just tired of having to apologise for something I didn't do."
Xander stepped forward, but she shook her head. "I need to clean up."
Before he could say anything else, she walked out of the kitchen.
She needed air. Space. Silence. Anything but the confusion and weight pressing in on her. And to get that, she shouldn't be around him.
She didn't make it far.
Lillianne intercepted her in the hallway near the staircase, arms folded, eyes gleaming with venom.
"You're really pathetic, you know that?" Lillianne said, stepping into her path. "Trying to act noble and quiet. You think it'll make him like you more?"
Erin didn't have the patience.
"I'm not trying anything, Lillianne. You should too."
"Like hell you're not! You're here seducing an engaged man shamelessly and you dare deny it."
"I'm not seducing anyone. If I was you would have been out of the game a long time ago." She said with unwavering confidence and certainty.
"And what can you offer him that I can't a million times more."
When Erin didn't answer her immediately, she grinned triumphantly.
"Tongue tied I see. You can't offer him anything that I can't. You're not even worth considering."
"At least I wouldn't cheat on your 'beloved' fiancé."
Lillianne's eyes flared, but Erin continued, voice calm. "I know about the guy you've been sneaking off with. So don't try anything funny, or I'll tell Xander."
"How did you know that?"
"Let's just say I have my own ways.
"You wouldn't dare," Lillianne snapped.
Erin smiled faintly. "You don't know what I'd do."
The sound of a door creaking open upstairs made them both freeze.
Then came footsteps.
Lillianne's expression shifted in an instant. She grabbed Erin's wrist and flung herself backward with a shriek, making it seem like Erin had shoved her.
Thud.
Her body tumbled down three steps before landing with a dramatic gasp.
"Ouch! Erin, what the hell?!"
Xander appeared at the top of the stairs just in time to see Lillianne sprawled on the landing, clutching her ankle.
"What's going on?!"
Erin's face paled, her lips parting in disbelief.
"She—she pushed me! I just wanted to talk and she—"
"I didn't touch her," Erin said firmly, staring at Xander.
He glanced between them, his jaw tight. Then, without a word, he descended the stairs and crouched beside Lillianne.
"Can you stand?"
"I think so," she whimpered.
He helped her up, supporting her weight as she leaned dramatically on him.
"I'll take her to the guest room," he said without meeting Erin's eyes.
Erin stood still at the top of the stairs, her chest hollow.
And just like that, the distance between them grew even wider.