Chapter 20: Tension in the room

Ruelle stood in the drawing room as she began to tidy up the place before she would leave for Sexton. The guests had decided to return to their houses directly from the church, while her parents were remained with the newlyweds. She was glad that the wedding ceremony had gone smoothly and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The soft creak of the door behind her pulled her from her thoughts. She turned to find Ezekiel standing in the doorway.

“Mr. Henley?” Ruelle looked taken aback by his presence . She glanced behind him, and asked, “Where is Caroline?” There was an undercurrent of nervousness in her voice that she masked behind a smile.

Ezekiel’s eyes locked with hers, and she felt the room beginning to turn constrict as he stepped further into the room. He replied, “She’s talking to your aunt, who is about to leave.” After a tense pause, he added with an edge in his voice, “You weren’t at the altar.”

“Oh, I was standing at the side with the guests. I got there a little late, but I didn’t miss the ceremony,” Ruelle replied, her tone formal and distant—a barrier she’d built between them, though one she wasn’t sure she could maintain for long under his scrutiny.

“Everyone in the family is delighted and eagerly anticipating next weekend. Especially Caroline. She hasn’t stopped talking about it.”

“She is a lovely young lady. Then it’s settled. We’ll see this through.”

Ezekiel’s jaw clenched slightly. That was not what he meant. Did she not know that he wanted to marry her? He couldn’t believe the blunder that had unfolded. Casually, he asked,

“Did you leave the house last night, Ruelle?”

Ruelle was acutely aware that Mr. Henley, now her sister’s husband, was addressing her with newfound familiarity—as if he knew of her mistake. For a brief moment, the memory of the night before flashed through her mind—his arms around her, the mistake she had been desperately trying to forget.

She forced herself to remain calm, her face betraying nothing. She repeated, “Leave the house? It was the evening before the wedding, Mr. Henley. We barely had any time to leave the house with all the guests around. Why? Did something happen?”

Her words were a carefully constructed lie, and she prayed they would be enough to throw him off. Ezekiel’s expression remained unreadable, but she could feel the weight of his suspicion pressing down on her.

For a long moment, Ezekiel said nothing, his gaze never leaving hers. He wanted to believe it had been her last night—everything in him was telling him that it was—but her denials, her calm refusal to acknowledge what had happened, made him doubt his reality.

Ruelle met his gaze head-on, hearing her sister’s voice growing louder as she approached the main door. In an attempt to diffuse the heavy atmosphere in the room, she said,

“Mr. Henley, thank you for loving and marrying Caroline. Especially knowing you will keep my sister very happy makes me very happy as well.” She smiled.

Ezekiel’s knuckles turned white. Before he could say anything in response, Caroline and Mrs. Belmont appeared at the doorway. Mrs. Belmont’s eyes fell on Ruelle, and she said,

“Ruelle dear. Caroline needs your help changing out of her dress.”

“Yes, Mother,” Ruelle replied, more than eager to leave the room and quickly walked away with Caroline towards their bedroom.

The moment the door closed, it took less than a second for Mrs. Belmont to be slammed against the wall with sudden force.

Ezekiel gripped Mrs. Belmont’s neck, his fingers pressing against her skin as the older woman gasped, her eyes widening in shock. She felt the cold, smooth surface of the wall behind her as he slammed her against it with barely restrained fury, her vision blurring momentarily as the breath was forced from her lungs.

“Mr. Henley!” she rasped, her voice weak. Her hands flew up to grasp his arm, her nails digging into his sleeve as she desperately tried to pry his iron-like fingers away. Her chest heaved, but she managed to draw in enough air to gasp out, “What do you think you’re doing? Let me go!”

Ezekiel glared down at her, slightly loosening his grip on her neck without letting her go. He spat in anger, “How dare you trick me into marrying Caroline instead of Ruelle? Do you think I’m a fool?” he growled, his voice darkening with each word. “Did you think I wouldn’t care?”

Mrs. Belmont’s hadn’t expected the kind Ezekiel Henley to erupt in such anger. Still, she forced herself to remain calm, her wide eyes meeting his as she whispered in a strained voice,

“Mr. Henley, I—I thought you wanted to marry Caroline. There must have been… a misunderstanding.” Her tone was carefully controlled, despite the panic twisting in her chest. “You married one of my daughters—what difference does it make? We’re a family now.”

Ezekiel’s grip around her neck tightened again, cutting off her breath entirely for a moment. His voice dropped to a whisper, “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?”

And then his eyes shifted to a growing, bright red. Mrs. Belmont froze.

“Did you think you could trick me and get away with it?” Ezekiel demanded, as his red eyes bore into hers.

But Mrs. Belmont was no stranger to danger, and she knew how to play her cards. She whispered hoarsely, “Ruelle wouldn’t be happy if you harmed me. She would never forgive you if something happened to me.”

Ezekiel scoffed. “Is that why you sent her to Sexton? Don’t—”

“Ruelle would be devastated if she found out that she was stealing her sister’s happiness. She will never accept you!” Mrs. Belmont said quickly. “She would come to despise you, because she loves her sister and family.”

Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed, his grip still firm, but the threat in her words wasn’t lost on him. She was right, at least in part. If he harmed Mrs. Belmont, it would raise more questions than he was ready to answer, and Ruelle—whether he wanted to admit it or not—was a factor he couldn’t ignore.

He finally released her, his hand dropping to his side as he took two steps back.

Mrs. Belmont sagged against the wall, coughing as she gasped for air, her hand reaching up to rub her neck. She had been cornered, yes, but she wasn’t powerless. Not as long as she had her daughters. The only part she hadn’t accounted for was him being a vampire!

The sound of footsteps approaching broke the tension between them, and Ruelle and Caroline appeared. Caroline, ever eager to assert herself as the new Mrs. Henley, spoke first.

“The living room is a little quiet,” she noted loudly.

Mrs. Belmont noticed Ezekiel slip seamlessly into the polished mask of the gentleman she had first invited into her home. His eyes softened, his posture relaxed, and his mouth formed a polite, almost disarming smile. The change was so sudden, so seamless, that if she hadn’t felt the sting of his grip, she might have believed the earlier tension had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

There was something more at stake here than just a marriage—something he wasn’t willing to lose, and that knowledge gave her a sense of power, even after his confrontation.

“That is because Mr. Henley wanted to seek my blessing and advice on marriage,” Mrs. Belmont said smoothly with a practised smile.

Ruelle’s gaze lingered on them for a moment longer, sensing an undercurrent of tension in the room despite the calm appearance. She silently prayed and hoped it had nothing to do with what had happened yesterday…!

Hoping to leave it all behind, she quickly departed for Sexton, deciding not to return home for the following weekend.

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