Page 44 of Semblance

“You’re out of your element,” he stated. “You don’t belong in our organization and the fact that you’ve been chosen for such a prestigious position taints the blood of the Midnight Society.”

“Since when is marriage considered a position?”

“Don’t be naïve. For centuries marriages were about forging alliances and building empires, not some trivial act of love.”

“You must have a hard time with dating.”

“I’ve looked into you, Aria Valencia. You’re nothing more than a lowly arts student,” Lucien continued. “There’s no such thing as the Golden Virgin. Calisto was spinning tall tales again. You have no influential bearing on our society.”

“And what makes you so high and mighty?” I asked. “You’re probably some over-glorified suit and tie guy, running some boring business where you spend your days crunching numbers in a cubicle while talking to other equally boring business people. How do you enrich the little people in any way?”

“I own Kingdom United, the world’s most famous football club, or known to you American Neanderthals as ‘soccer.’ I unite my city and give them something to cheer for each and every week.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Okay, that is pretty cool. But you’re still a dick.”

“Let me give you some simple advice,” Lucien said, his eyes directed on me for the first time during the conversation. “Stay away from Shadow. He is possessed by demons from his past that have driven him insane. The man’s a sociopath and the darkness that controls him is like a flesh-eating disease, one that will consume anyone close to him.”

“That’s rather dramatic.”

“I love the Society,” Lucien said, “And it saddens me to know that the destruction of our organization is imminent under Shadow’s leadership. He will burn it to the ground like the mad Emperor Nero, and the rest of us will crumble like ash.”

“Sounds like a sad story,” I said in a mocking tone. I always hated the melodramatic types, making everything sound more Shakespearean than things really were.

“Of course you don’t take me seriously,” Lucien muttered. “What else can I expect from an arts student? Someone who chooses your area of studies can’t be taking life seriously.”

I had enough.

“Look, are you going to sit here all day and play guidance counselor?” I raised my sexy novel to his face. “I have some erotic smut that needs to be read, and no offense, you’re killing the mood.”

“Stupid girl,” Lucien said as he rose from his seat, just before handing me the blank envelope, which was resting on his lap the entire time.

“If it’s naked pictures of you, I don’t want it. I get nauseous when I stare at assholes for long periods of time.”

“I’m giving you the opportunity to discover the mystery behind Shadow,” Lucien replied. “He’s an emotionally unstable man, and the information in this envelope will unlock his troubled past. I think you’ll find it a much more fascinating read than the filth you American’s pass as literature these days.”

“Are we done here?” I asked, annoyed.

Lucien flashed me a sly smile. “If you have any common sense, I won’t be seeing you ever again,” he said, just before adding, “Virgin,” mockingly.

I watched the bastard stroll away from me at a casual gait, hands buried in his pockets while whistling a cheerful tune. I was left alone with my erotic book in my hand and the mysterious envelope in my lap.

Whatever was inside was probably poisonous propaganda with the sole intention of soiling Shadow’s reputation. The best thing for me to do was to set the envelope on fire. Extreme measures, yes, but logical at the same time.

Everyone deserved to have his or her personal skeletons buried and laid to rest, Shadow included.

Who was I kidding?

“Fuck,” I muttered as I gave into the temptation and ripped open the envelope, uncovering the mysterious contents inside.

#

Chapter Fourteen

I had done my due diligence on Shadow before our first date.

Google didn’t provide much information, aside from him being a reclusive billionaire and owner of the Tremaine estate along with his sister Calisto. I did manage to dig out an obituary for both his parents; the circumstances of their deaths were unknown.

On the pixelated screen, he seemed like any other rich and powerful businessman—boring.

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