Leilani.

One minute, I was speaking in front of the crowd, shaking in sadness and sorrow as I relayed all of Jarek’s selfless acts to the crowd, and the next minute...

Well the next minute, I was standing face to face with a person who I definitely didn’t hope to see today. A person whose presence immediately struck me with panic and made my heart dip... and a person whose lips instantly curved upwards as soon as he caught me staring.

Darius.

He stood tall in front of the crowd, his frame as imposing as ever as he said the words that immediately made the crowd erupt into a uniformed gasp;

"...But I knew that he was a good man. I mean, I saw the way he treated his staff, especially Ms Sinclair. I saw the way he put her first in a lot of situations, and it is for this reason that I have decided to respect his funeral by not shedding blood."

His voice echoed throughout the room, carrying just enough force to send a chill down my spine. For the short period of time that I have come to know Darius, if there’s one thing I am sure of about him, then it is the fact that he doesn’t just call bluff.

He never would.

Especially not at a time like this...

I frowned. "What is he doing here?"

"Leilani—" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Why’s he making this about him and not about the man who’s dead?"

My sharp voice made a few people standing around turn to look at me, their faces twisted into different emotions that I couldn’t quite wrap my fingers around at the moment.

I only came to when I felt something wrap around my shoulder and when I dragged in the familiar scent of... Maya, I stopped, closed my eyes and whispered;

"You came."

"Ignore him." She hissed into my ear, wrapping her arms even more tightly around my shoulder.

I cast one more look at Darius. At his face. At his hand that was still wrapped around an uncomfortable looking Keisha’s arm and then I turned to look at Maya who for some reason looked very tired. Tiny wrinkles had formed on her forehead and her face had stress lines that I couldn’t remember seeing there before.

She smiled. "Lani..."

"You came..." I whispered again, more softly this time in order not to make her feel more stressed than she already feels.

"Yes, I came..." when she spoke, her voice was small... almost inaudible. You could easily tell that the morning sickness she kept complaining about ever since she realized that she was pregnant was taking its toll on her.

Her usually bright pink hair was slightly ashen now, wrapped into a messy bun at the top of her head, and she was clad in a dress— an ugly black dress— that the usual Maya would never wear if she wasn’t so sick.

"I knew that this whole event would take its toll on you so I had to come." She said softly, her warm breath fanning the top of my head as she held me close.

"But you shouldn’t hav—" I began to say but stopped when she cocked her eyebrows at me, her lips puckering slightly as she hissed;

"You were the closest person to Jarek. Everyone knows that so you do not have to pretend like you are fine."

I didn’t have to pretend...

Those words stuck out to me. It made my chest feel tight and made the corners of my eyes burn with tears.

Why?

Because goddess, I have been pretending for the past two days. Because I have been hiding my pain, my loss from everyone and pretending to be fine when in truth, I couldn’t ascertain how I could go on living with all of this pain I now carried.

Because everywhere I looked, there was a Jarek there, waving at me... smiling at me... even though I now knew that we were several worlds apart now.

My hands fisted into my cloth and no matter how much my tears threatened to drop, I didn’t allow it.

Not right here.

Not in front of Darius who had just, like everyone else, realized my scam.

As if reading through my thoughts— maybe he even did that— he stepped forward, dragging a pale looking Keisha with him as he came to stand in front of me until he towered over me dangerously.

"You didn’t die...?"

He sounded stunned. Amazed even and hell, he did a poor job of hiding the excitement in his eyes.

"I knew you could never die that easily, Leilani. I suspected that you were somewhere... probably lost... but I never for once believed that you were dead."

The child-like excitement on his face as he said that made me squirm. It made me extremely uncomfortable, especially when he brushed his free hand against my arm.

That action sent shivers running up my spine and I would’ve gagged if there weren’t so many people silently watching us curiously as we speak.

Pretending to keep it cordial, I nodded curtly and in a voice that was so small, it was almost inaudible, I hissed; "I was hospitalized at some point and I needed to be left alone, away from the scrutinizing eyes of the public, especially since I had lost a friend."

Agnes.

Agnes who was killed by the same person responsible for Jarek’s death.

This fresh thought made my eyes dart to Keisha and when I saw the smug look on her face, my anger flared.

"Could you please let go of your prisoner?" I asked Darius softly, "she’s mine not yours."

"I never said she was mine to begin with..." he drawled back in that cocky manner that was purely his. "I am only keeping her in place until you decide what to do with her."

"I have decided—" I began to say but stopped when he started talking right at the same time. He muttered;

"And I will release her to you on one condition..."

"Darius, this is not the time and place!" I snapped in irritation, "I just lost a friend."

"I also just lost a business partner." He supplied without any ounce of emotion, "...and I need to be sure that my deal with the Frostclaws still stands."

"Darius."

"I’ll release her to you if you will agree to meet with me. Privately. We have so many unfinished business to revisit."

"And if you think I am the right candidate to talk to about them, then you’re wrong." I said and began to walk away, only to stop in my tracks when his voice came from behind me— cold and taunting.

He drawled; "I am sure that you are the right person. Frostclaw. Inc has published its recent number, and on the first page, it was dutifully reported that you are to inherit and lead the company in the absence of Alpha Frostclaw."

"I what?" I snapped, turning around to face him.

But at the time, it wasn’t his reaction that stuck out to me the most. It was that of the unsurprised crowd. It was Keisha who was currently stewing in rage.

I took one glance at her and then nodded once at Darius, my voice cold as I whispered; "Okay. We’ll see right after the funeral. Make sure she doesn’t slip out of your grasp."

"Yes, milady."