Saintess's Worthless Husband Turned Dragon Commander novel Chapter 173

CHAPTER 139 PART 1

The top floor suite had three rooms.

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Marcus had taken the main dining area. Miguel Abbott occupied the chair at the head of the table with the settled patience of a man accustomed to waiting for things to develop. The harbor view from this height was the best in Five-River Province – the city’s lights spread below like a second sky, the water a dark mirror that held them without opinion.

They had been talking for twenty minutes about logistics, about Five-River Province’s power distribution, about the specific pressure points of the Lancaster Family’s east corridor infrastructure, when the door to the suite’s secondary room opened.

Marcus looked up.

Miguel Abbott looked up.

Elize Yarrow stood in the doorway in a bunny outfit.

It was white. It had ears. The hotel’s wardrobe service had provided it – Pearl on the Water maintained a selection of costumes for themed private events, a detail that said something about the clientele – and Elize had clearly located it, assessed it, and made a decision that she was now standing inside.

Her chin was up. Her expression had the specific quality of someone who had committed to something and was not going to be the first person to acknowledge that it might have been a miscalculation.

Miguel Abbott set down his glass with exquisite care.

Marcus looked at her for exactly three seconds.

“No,” he said.

Elize blinked. “I thought you said—”

“I said come upstairs for the evening.” Marcus turned back to the harbor view. “That was for Atlas’s benefit. The objective was humiliation, not an actual invitation.” He picked up his glass. “Go change.”

Elize stood in the doorway in the bunny outfit and the silence that followed had several layers.

“You used me,” she said.

“Yes.”

“To embarrass Atlas.”

“Yes.”

“And now that it’s done-11

“You’re a person who happened to be at the same table,” Marcus said. “You were useful for approximately forty minutes. The usefulness is concluded.” He looked at her. His dragon eyes were not cruel – indifferent, which was worse. “Go change, Elize.”

they were simply

she was too

Elize Yarrow’s chin remained up. Something moved behind her eyes that was not quite hurt prideful for the expression to be pure hurt — but it was adjacent to it, the specific feeling of someone who had constructed an understanding of a situation and found the foundation wasn’t there.

She walked to the table. She pulled out the chair across from Marcus. She sat down.

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CHAPTER POP MARTI

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She picked up the menu.

Marcus looked at her.

“I’m hungry,” she said, without looking up. “The restaurant situation interrupted dinner.”

Miguel Abbott covered his mouth with his hand and looked at the harbor.

“You’re not leaving,” Marcus said.

“Not until I’ve eaten.” She turned a page. “The lamb looks good. Does the lamb come with sides?”

“Miss Yarrow-”

“Elize,” she said. “And yes, I heard what you said. You used me, I was useful, usefulness concluded. Noted. I still haven’t eaten.” She set the menu down and looked at him with the clear, direct gaze of someone who had processed an uncomfortable truth and decided to continue operating anyway. “You also just made Atlas Lancaster think I spent the night in a hotel suite with you. My engagement is effectively destroyed. My father is going to hear about this within the hour.” She tilted her head. “So I think I’ve earned the lamb.”

A pause.

“Fine,” Marcus said.

Miguel Abbott signaled for the kitchen with the relieved expression of someone who had found something to do with his hands.

Marcus looked at Elize – at the bunny ears still on her head, which she had apparently forgotten about or decided not to remove – and then at Miguel, who was studying the tablecloth with focused dedication.

“You can’t read me,” Marcus said to Miguel.

Miguel looked up. “I’m sorry?”

“Since we came up here. You’ve been trying to locate what I want.” Marcus set his glass down. “Money doesn’t move me. The woman clearly doesn’t move me. You can’t find the lever.” He looked at Miguel with the patient attention of someone who had encountered this before. “There isn’t one. Not one you’d recognize.”

Miguel was quiet for a moment. “Then what do you want in Five-River Province?”

“Atlas Lancaster,” Marcus said simply. “And what he built and what he used it for.” He looked at the harbor. ” Everything else is incidental.”

The food arrived – the lamb with sides, as requested, plus the continuation of the earlier order. Elize ate with the focused efficiency of someone who had decided that the emotional processing could happen after the nutritional requirements were addressed.

Marcus waited until she had finished half her plate.

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