Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Tia sighed. “Not punching people is hard.”
“Yes. I had a real struggle while talking to Phillip. I had to leave him in the cistern for most of the conversation, because I didn’t trust myself. How did you put up with him for so long?”
“Like I said, he wasn’t like that at first. I was awkward. Those assholes look down on me because of my family and because I’m… I’m me. He was the only one who would talk to me. And then the tampon thing happened.”
“What changed, do you think?”
She snorted. “I know exactly what changed. I was there. We were in the lounge waiting for the assembly, and people were talking about House warfare. Seth Floris made a joke. He said that if shit hit the fan, Phillip would be the only one to survive, because he would hide behind me.”
“True.”
“I know! And Seth didn’t mean it in a bad way. We spar sometimes. He was just giving me a compliment. People laughed. Phillip got this weird look, and now four months later he is AlphaBullshitProtocol or whatever that was.”
One joke. That’s all it took. Wow.
She leaned back and sighed. “I do not want to go back to that school. I just… I can’t. And my dad made a big deal out of me going to Heritage.”
“Talk to Ms. Cabrera. She will help. If anybody can talk your dad into it, she will do it.”
“Thanks,” Tia said.
“Any time. Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Ask.”
“What is it with Ray and money questions?”
Tia rolled her eyes. “The Veiled Atelier.”
“The gacha game? The one where you buy the outfits?”
She nodded. “They had a special event and I got carried away.”
“How carried away?”
“Four thousand dollars.”
I almost choked on my steak.
“I was depressed.”
“4K worth of depressed?!”
She shrugged. “They’ve cut my allowance by half until I pay it off. Ray got the worst of it. His job title says bodyguard, but he’s more like my nanny. He was supposed to supervise me.”
“Did you family expect him to stand over your shoulder and keep you from buying pixels?”
“That’s what he said. He got chewed out anyway, so now he is paranoid.” Tia raised her head. “What smells so good?”
Something did smell good. Fried and delicious. Where was it coming from… I tugged on my magic, grabbing a silver-blue strand. The world opened like a flower, and the scents flooded in.
“I’m pretty sure it’s those fried mushrooms over there.”
“We should order some!”
“We should!”
Then a familiar scent floated past me. Oh no, you don’t.
I put my fork down and pointed at the chair next to me. “In the chair. Right now.”
Tia raised her eyebrows.
A small shape slipped out from behind an ornamental shrub. Behind her, a raccoon, a cat, and a Doberman popped into view.
I thought so.
Matilda scurried over and sat in the chair, her animals still poised by the bushes.
“Who is this?” Tia asked.
“My little sister,” I told her.
“We are not sisters,” Matilda corrected, a serious expression on her face.
Checked by a little kid. “Thanks, Matilda. That hurts my feelings.”
“Why? It’s true.”
Ouch. “Yes, we are not technically sisters, but I love you and think of you as my sister.”
“I’m sorry,” Matilda said. “I did not mean to hurt your feelings. Would you like to hold Go Min Nam to feel better?”
I glanced at Go Min Nam, who was still sitting by the shrub, looking beyond beautiful with his cream fur and blue eyes. That cat was a prince among all Himalayan felines.
“I would, but I don’t think the restaurant would be okay with it.”
“Do you forgive me?” Matilda asked.
“Yes.”
Matilda turned to Tia. “We do not share biological parents.”
“Aha,” Tia said.
“But our parents are colleagues and friends, and we care about each other. Father says it is called found family.” Matilda reached out and patted my hand. “I also think of you as my sister.”
“Thank you.”
Tia clearly wanted to ask questions. For a second I thought she would, but she stuffed steak into her mouth instead.
“Matilda, how did you get here?”
“I told Calvin I was meeting you for dinner,” she said.
Translation: she’d gotten one of our security guys to drive her.
“So you lied?”
Matilda nodded, her dark hair shifting. “Yes.”
“Why did you lie?”
“My aunt isn’t answering my texts.”
Oh. “Diana is the Head of the House. She might be busy.”
“She tells me when she is busy. This morning, she went to see Augustine Montgomery, and now she is not answering my texts. You also go to see Augustine Montgomery. Frequently.”
I knew Matilda was spying on us. I just didn’t realize how thorough she was.
“Who is this Augustine?” Tia asked.
“I’m doing an internship with MII. He owns MII.”
“That tells me nothing.”
I pulled up the picture of Augustine poised against the cobalt glass tower of the MII building and showed it to Tia.
Her eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“What is an internship?” Matilda asked.