Page 174 of Chandelier Enthralled
Slowed a little by the traffic, I was now minutes away from arriving at Cameron’s, ready to share the news that I had fallen for his sister.
And I meant to express to Willa my profound gratitude for all she had done.
Even though I was still not free of the torture of knowing I had played a part in Amelia’s death, I was now at least vindicated when it came to her murder.
I’d decided I would design a library and name it after her. Amelia always did love reading in the quiet corners of my home or visiting bookstores. It was easier to remember her this way. This was how I’d honor her life.
As I approached Cameron’s gate, I saw movement near the mansion’s front door. Willa was talking with a young man and Cameron was with them.
My gut told me that was Hugo. It was the way he was offering her flowers, her fraught expression, and the way Cole had motioned for them to go inside.
After parking a little way down from the gate, I walked the short distance back to the entrance and discreetly peered through the bars to get a read on the scene.
Willa hadn’t mentioned Hugo’s visit.
It was hard to see or hear anything from where I stood. Though Hugo appeared somewhat reassured. Willa accepted the flowers and sniffed them, her face lighting up with kindness.
This was a romantic encounter.
Seeing her with Hugo—the one who’d shattered her heart with such effortless cruelty—hit me square in the chest like a corkscrew to my heart. I despised him, not just for the wreckage he’d left in his wake, but for the sheer arrogance with which he thought he could stroll back into her life, thinking he could pick up where he left off, blind to the hurt he’d caused.
My flowers were still in the car and that was where they would stay.
There was no way I was going to turn up in front of them like a sad suitor trying to compete for Willa’s attention.
Clearly this was something she wanted, and her happiness was more important than anything.
Cameron’s Beverly Hills mansion towered in the background. It was within these walls that he hosted his exclusive dinner parties, gatherings filled with brilliant minds and modern-day heroes. These were the kinds of events that left you seeing life through a new lens, one of heightened awareness that was truly transformative. And to be invited into his home meant you had earned his approval.
And now Hugo was following him inside.
I strolled back to my car, needing to put as much distance between myself and this neighborhood as possible.
Hugo looked a lot younger than me, at least by ten years, and he had that artsy student vibe I’d lost decades ago.
If she chose to take him back, I hoped he would live up to the challenge of being the best man he could be.
Who was I kidding?
Fuck him.
And fuck his stupid hair.
I was going to storm in there and go get the girl. I walked back to the gate and punched the four-digit code into the panel and waited.
Cameron appeared in the doorway, holding his phone, clearly having seen my arrival on his camera app.
He stared at me.
How could words ever hope to capture the depths of what I felt for his sister? How could I possibly convey the enormity of what she had given me? She hadn’t just rescued me in a practical sense. No, she had breathed life back into me in ways I had never imagined. She had restored my belief in the goodness of the world, rekindled the spark of fairness and balance that I had thought were lost forever. In her presence, the darkness I’d been drowning in began to recede, replaced by hope. She was the reason I found myself willing to continue, willing to breathe, to feel, to believe again that life, in all its chaotic beauty, was worth living.
Cameron shook his head,no.
Then turned and walked back inside.
I wasn’t welcome.
Did he know about Willa and me? Had she told him about us? Did he not approve?
