Chapter 140: Verification Required

Elias Kane stepped out of the bathroom with a towel in hand, rubbing at his soft black hair while steam followed him into the bedroom.

Send Liora a message.

[What message?]

Elias dried the ends of his hair and looked toward the bed. The staff had laid out sleepwear for him while he was in the shower, neat, expensive, and exactly the sort of thing Serena Blackwood would prefer seeing on him. He lifted one leg onto the edge of the mattress, drew the pajama pants up from his ankle to his thigh, and finished dressing with unhurried ease.

Just send the smiley face I used to send all the time.

[Sent.]

Elias: (=^^=)

Liora Voss picked up her phone when it vibrated.

The screen showed Elias’s familiar little smile.

She laughed.

So the "game" between him and Serena had ended. More importantly, Elias had guessed what she had done. Of course he had. He was too sharp not to put the pieces together once Serena started testing people.

Liora leaned back slightly, phone balanced in both hands.

She had helped him speed things up with Serena. Her kitten should be pleased, shouldn’t he?

Her fingers moved over the screen with a hint of asking for credit.

Liora: So? How did I do?

The message failed.

Liora’s smile slowly faded.

Beside the text, a red exclamation mark burned on the screen.

Little Kitten has enabled contact verification. You are not currently connected. Please send a request and wait for approval before messaging.

For a few seconds, Liora stared at the message.

Then she understood.

He was angry.

That had to be it. She had never considered the possibility that Elias would delete her as a contact. Nothing he had shown her suggested he would do something so blunt, so childish, so cleanly punitive. He was playful, cruel, shameless, strategic, and patient. He used people too well to throw away access over temper.

But even a clay doll had a temper if pushed far enough.

Elias was far more alive than clay.

He must have guessed not only that she had helped him, but why. There had been usefulness in what she did, yes, but there had also been revenge. A little sting returned for the gift he had given her in the kitchen. A little payback for making her taste Serena in his mouth and then smiling at her as if she should be grateful.

So he had deleted her.

Regret rose in Liora before she could reason it away.

Not because Serena had suspected her.

Because Elias had cut her off.

The realization settled for one quiet moment.

Then, unexpectedly, Liora smiled again.

Being treated like this, and still smiling over it.

She really was beyond saving.

Some time later, her bedroom door opened without warning.

Liora let the phone screen go dark naturally before lifting her eyes.

Serena stood at the door.

"Sis," Liora said with a light sigh, "could you at least shower before entering my room?"

Serena had clearly come straight from Elias. After what she and Elias had done, she had gone to arrange food for him without taking the time to clean herself up. Even at a distance, the evidence clung to her in ways Liora had no interest in naming for her.

Serena smiled. "You’re disgusted with me now?"

"This time, the battle was intense enough that disgust is hard to avoid."

Elias’s voice had carried all the way to the living room earlier. Even the household staff had gone red-faced, eyes lowered and hands moving with extra care around the trays. Anyone with ears could imagine the rest.

"Enough," Serena said. "I need to talk to you."

The shift in tone told Liora this was no longer teasing.

She stopped smiling and set her phone aside.

She had a rough idea of what Serena wanted to say.

Serena looked at her, calm and direct. "I don’t want what happened today to happen again."

Liora did not answer.

"I know your intention may have been good," Serena continued. "But you made a decision on your own. Next time, if you want to do something like that, tell me first."

The words were mild.

Their meaning depended entirely on who heard them.

If Liora had truly meant nothing else, it was only a warning between sisters. A reminder not to interfere too much. Annoying, but not severe.

If she had meant something else, then it was a threat.

Even with Liora, Serena had not softened completely.

Or perhaps, because it was Liora, Serena had chosen this much gentleness. Anyone else would not have received a conversation. Serena would already have made them pay.

After a long silence, Liora nodded. "Okay."

The sisters looked at each other and smiled.

Then Serena turned and left.

Early the next morning, Serena asked the staff where Elias had gone.

The answer came carefully.

"Mr. Kane left this morning."

Serena frowned.

The more time she spent with Elias, the harder it became to let him leave her sight. If she had to explain it, she would say she liked his body more and more. They fit too well. After sharing a bed with him, she could no longer pull the cold mask back over herself as easily as before and treat him like a temporary toy.

So when Serena called him with a trace of anger over his leaving without saying goodbye, her voice had already calmed by the time he picked up.

"Why did you leave so suddenly?"

His voice came through the phone, clear and pleasant. "You were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you."

Serena laughed silently.

Elias was capable of kicking her out of bed without the slightest guilt. Since when would he care that much about disturbing her sleep?

Unfortunately, the words gave her no opening for anger. From any angle, they sounded considerate.

Serena’s tone warmed. "Then go to class properly. When I miss you, I’ll send someone to pick you up."

There was a brief silence on his end.

Then Elias answered softly, "Okay."

Neither of them hung up.

The line stayed open, soundless except for the faint hush of distance. That silence should have been empty. Instead, it seemed to stretch between them with the kind of ambiguous intimacy teenagers might mistake for love and adults should have known better than to enjoy.

In the end, Serena hung up first.

On the bus to campus, Elias covered his mouth with one hand and laughed until his eyes narrowed.

I really didn’t expect Serena to like that kind of thing.

She wanted to savor even a tiny scrap of ambiguity. What was she, twelve?

She had probably realized what she was doing at the end and hung up in a hurry.

Elias shook his head, still smiling. The Blackwood sisters’ favorability had climbed high enough. They were nearing the final stretch now, and for the moment, pushing them further would become inefficient.

Time to change targets.

His fingers brushed the key in his pocket.

Serena had rented him a place to stay while the apartment she bought was being renovated. Once it was ready, he would move into the purchased unit. For now, the rental was his.

But how could he possibly live alone?

Please. He was such a coward. Of course he was afraid of the dark. What if a ghost crawled out from under the bed and dragged him away? Naturally, he had to ask Giselle Frost to come keep him company.

[...]

System Theta had no immediate comment.

Too much theater, apparently.

By afternoon, after finishing his classes at Westbridge University, Elias decided the timing was about right. He took out his phone and messaged Giselle.

Elias: Giselle, I rented a place, but I’m a little scared staying there alone. Can you come stay with me?

He sent it, then immediately typed the second line.

Elias: Just tonight... one night is enough.

He did not send it right away.

He waited three full minutes before tapping send.

The hesitation had to be visible.

[What if Giselle Frost doesn’t come?]

Impossible, Elias answered without hesitation.

Then he thought of something and smiled, his eyes narrowing like a little fox’s.

And if she really doesn’t, I’ll go find my doctor instead. I’m missing plenty of things in life, but women aren’t one of them.

So Liora dared to be even a little dissatisfied with him?

She could go stand in the corner and drink air. She was not even getting the privilege of licking his feet.

In the suburbs, inside the Sinclair entertainment complex, Sloane Sinclair and Naomi Vale sat on a sofa not far from the billiards table, watching the silver-haired girl clear the table in one shot.

Both women looked bored and resigned in the way people did when they had already lost enough rounds to stop pretending the next one would be different.

Just then, Giselle Frost’s phone buzzed.

The sound pulled their attention over.

Naomi noticed the screen first.

Then she burst into amusement. "That message is absolutely from a two-faced sweetheart. Giselle, why haven’t you deleted him yet?"