Tasting

418–They Know!

Nora:

I watched Carla leave with Daphne, but they weren’t going far. Of course, I wouldn’t let Daphne out of my sight. I only allowed them to take a walk through the royal garden. That was when the brothers began to return to the table.

“How are you?” Before they could arrive, I turned to ask Lord Atwood. I wanted to be harsh with him so he could understand that when he hurt me, he broke my trust in him. But Akira kept pushing me from inside, even when I had the ring on.

“I am not well,” he answered.

“Why? What happened?” I felt a slight flutter in my chest.

“Because my daughter is angry with me,” he said as the brothers took their seats.

“Don’t worry, Dad; she is angry with everyone,” Ryker complained, leaning back in his chair.

“Did you know, Dad, Nora likes diamonds these days?” Cain suddenly spoke up, and I frowned at him in offense. When did I ever say I liked diamonds?

So I focused on Cain, eager to hear him continue.

“Really? Then I must get her some diamonds. I know jewelers who make the best bracelets and necklaces,” Lord Atwood replied with such enthusiasm that I began to wonder if the previous months had even

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happened. Why was Lord Atwood acting like nothing had transpired? He was back to being all sweet and nice with me.

“There will be no need for that. I don’t know why Cain is concocting stories,” I uttered with disdain.

He must have noticed because he looked away, adjusting his coat, which he wore without a shirt.

“Really? You said it yourself.” It was Ryker who stood up to back up his brother’s lies. I narrowed my eyes at him, thinking they were merely picking on me until I recalled why he was saying that.

“Ohhh!” I felt like my heart sank into my stomach. “I do like–my diamonds. But only the ones that I purchased myself.”

It felt like they knew something. The brothers were constantly exchanging glances, which made me extremely uncomfortable. Lord Atwood must have been oblivious to his sons‘ actions; he looked utterly lost in the midst of our silent battle.

“Anyway, so Nora shares her mate with her best friend, but she doesn’t share her diamonds with her best friend,” Ryker said, and the three of them burst into laughter, causing me to clench my jaw.

“That is her personal business,” thankfully, Lord Atwood noticed that I was uncomfortable with his sons‘ jokes.

“I get it. But it’s funny, you know? Because I sent out my pack’s courier to Brody’s mansion to get her diamonds here since she likes them so much. But guess what her best friend, Janet, said-” My eyes widened in shock as I watched Nash casually talk about something they had been doing behind my back, and I had no clue about it. I thought they couldn’t do anything if I didn’t say a word.

“What?” Lord Atwood asked Nash. This time, Silas raised his head and

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looked me in the eye so intently that it truly petrified me. Did they find out?

“Janet said she would give me the diamonds the day they can start walking.”

I didn’t know what that meant; it could be interpreted in so many ways.

“In short, Janet told us that Nora doesn’t have any diamonds,” however, Cain quickly added before I could react anxiously or aggressively.

“But Nora just said-” The rest of the conversation blended into the outside noise as I recalled how much Janet despises me. What did she mean by all that?

I need to call Brody- My thoughts were cut off when we heard screams louder than anything. I remembered Carla, and instantly, I felt a sense of calm. Her screams were like a melody to my ears.

“What happened?” Lord Atwood got up, following everyone else except for me. I remained seated, waiting for Carla to come into view.

She did.

She was running toward us while Daphne trailed behind her, briskly making her way to catch up.

“Stay away from me! Because of you, it all happened!” Carla screamed at Daphne, who looked utterly guilty. I turned in my seat to observe them. It was like watching a scene unfold before me, from the fog people appearing to the victim facing them and the creator reacting to it.

“The fog people–they appeared, and I bet I’m a target now.” Carla dropped to her knees the moment she arrived and started sobbing.

I noticed two things. First, Carla was incredibly foolish. They only make

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victims when they are alone. They obviously appeared because they are drawn to their creator, but those with the creator or anyone else are never the target. The second thing was that Daphne looked remorseful, almost as if she was unhappy that someone was so frightened because of her.