The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65 Hand In Hand

Frost considered this. “High visibility can be a bit of a deterrent and it can also be a provocation”

“Let it provoke,” Elera said, a sharp edge entering her voice. “Let Xan see that his little pact with my pathetic father changes nothing. That we are not hiding from them. And he is just a man watching from the shadows, getting angrier and more useless by the day.”

There was a flicker of something akin to approval in Frost’s impassive eyes. “I will adjust the security detail. The principle will be a rapid, public in–and–out. It will be a statement.”

“Exactly.”

After Frost left, Elera poured her tea, but it had gone cold. She carried the cup to the window wall in the great room, looking out at the rain–smeared vista. The peace of the morning was gone, replaced by the familiar, steady hum of vigilance. The war was not on hold. It had simply found a new, petty general.

She heard the soft tap of a cane on the floorboards. Drakonius entered the room, dressed for the day. He looked rested, the gray pallor less pronounced.

“Frost updated me,” he said, coming to stand beside her at the window. He didn’t touch her, but his presence was a solid warmth at her side. “Your father is a shortsighted fool.”

“He’s a drowning man,” Elera corrected, though without sympathy. “He’s grabbing at Xan like a piece of driftwood, not realizing it’s attached to an anchor.”

“Apt.” Drakonius was silent for a moment. “You still want to go to the dinner tomorrow?”

The word ‘fun‘ was so alien to their context that it startled a small, genuine laugh from her. “Fun? A high- security, potentially hostile social engagement?”

“Alright,” she said, echoing him. “A smash–and–grab it is.”

He nodded, his gaze returning to the rain. “Good. Now, I believe I am due for my morning torture session with Simon. Something about improving my lung capacity. He threatens me with a stationary bicycle. It’s barbaric.”

As he walked away, leaning on his cane but with a straighter back than she’d seen in weeks, Elera felt the cold knot in her chest loosen. Her father’s betrayal was a new wound, but it was shallow. Xan’s anger was a constant. But here, inside these walls, she had something they didn’t.

She had a partner who made her laugh in the face of a threat. And she had an emerald dress waiting in her closet, for a night where she would be someone else entirely–a celebrated author on the arm of the most mysterious man in the city.