Chapter 106: Chapter 106

~ ARIA

Worry seized me, but not for myself… I worried for Rowan.

I had never known my brother to do things in half measures. He was either all in or all out, which was why it initially surprised me when I watched him with Nyssa. It was clear how much he wanted her, but he denied himself so much.

Now that he had decided to have her for real… I feared for his reaction.

I knew the odds of Nyssa joining us for dinner were low so I asked Leah to make sure she was in her room. I’d hoped to have a conversation with her, to try and explain things from Rowan’s point of view. I was not expecting for Leah to come to us with such shocking news.

Nyssa’s room was made to perfection.

The bed was untouched and so were the papers on her desk that she had carried the last time she helped me out at work. The room looked like it had not been used in a while but what stopped me short was the closet.

It was wide open and there were clothes missing. Hangers lay on the floor as did some other clothes, as if she’d grabbed them in a hurry and rushed out.

I watched Rowan carefully, trying to make out his emotions but his eyes were hard and his face was like carved marble. He took in the room slowly, eyes coasting over every piece of furniture in place.

His silence worried me.

“She would have left sometime last night,” I murmured aloud. “We can ask the guards if any of them have seen her—”

“She did not leave.”

Rowan’s voice was low and cold, like pieces of ice falling to the ground.

“Rowan, the evidence suggests—”

“I don’t give a fuck what you think the evidence suggests!” he snapped. “We spoke last night. We had come to an agreement. She would not have left! I looked her in the eye, I saw how much she… fuck.”

I turned to Leah. “Please leave us.”

She did not need to be told twice. She scurried out of the room and slammed the door shut behind us, leaving Rowan and I alone in the otherwise empty room.

I slowly made my way over to my brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. He did not shrug it off immediately, but he stiffened beneath my palm.

“I saw her, Aria,” he whispered, voice barely audible. “She was hurt, but she still felt for me. I know what I saw.”

“I am not calling you a liar, but perhaps that was why she left. Maybe she just needed to get away.”

“How would she have gone? She does not have help. She does not have family. She does not even own a car.”

“Maybe she had help. I will ask around. Just… we’ll figure this out.”

He swallowed thickly. “She cannot leave me. I will not allow it.”

I did not respond, merely patted his shoulder affectionately before pulling away.

I headed for the papers on the desk. Knowing Rowan, he would have spies tearing the room apart piece by piece and I could not afford to have my documents missing.

However, when I reached for it, I noticed something unusual at the top.

The piece of paper atop the documents did not belong to me. it was turned over and I could make out writing on the other side.

I turned it gingerly, heart sinking as I read the words. I’d never seen Nyssa’s handwriting before, but I assumed the note was from her. After all, who else would have access to her room?

“Did you find something?” Rowan asked and I quickly turned the paper over again.

“No,” I lied smoothly. “I just wanted to get these.”

I lifted the stack of documents with a tight smile.

It was a testament to how lost in thought he was that he did not even notice my lie. I scurried off to my own room, locking myself behind the safety of the wooden doors before going over the paper again.

I can’t do this anymore.

I’m sorry.

I cannot be with a murderer.

Do not look for me.

Those four lines would gut Rowan like a fish.

The letter was obviously intended for him but I could not let him see it. There was no predicting how he would react but I knew enough to know that it would not be good.

I folded the envelope, shoving it deep into my drawer.

If she truly left, she would have needed help and there was only one other person in this palace that could have helped her.

************************

Eric was standing with some guards, laughing in a circle. They nursed identical glasses of amber liquid, humor dancing in their midst and rage swirled in my gut.

He had the gall to sit her laughing after helping her escape?

“Eric!” I snapped, unable to keep the anger out of my throat. “A word.”

He went still, brows furrowing slightly as he took me in.

He mumbled something to his friends before making his way over to me, hands shoved in his pockets.

Upon approaching, he gave a short jerk of his head… a small bow. “Your Highness. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Do not play coy with me, Henry. You are lucky that it is me and not Rowan out here. I do not imagine my brother will be so kind.”

He looked taken aback. “I don’t understand. Did something happen?”

“You tell me. Where were you last night?”

“With the guys. We went to a bar—”

I scoffed. “A solid alibi, I should have known. Listen to me very carefully, Eric, Rowan is on a warpath right now, and you are standing in his way. Tell me where Nyssa is, I will find her and I will speak to her. Rowan will never have to know of your involvement.”

“What do you mean where is Nyssa? Is she missing?”

There was genuine surprise in his voice that caught me off guard. “You don’t know? You helped her.”

“Helped her? What the fuck? Last I saw her she looked like death warmed over. I’ve been waiting for her all morning but I haven’t seen her. Where the hell is she?”

Panic had crept into his voice, and with it anger.

“Wait, so if you didn’t help her… then who did?

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