Chapter 50

The door opened wide and the heavy sound of boots echoed off the stone floors as Leo entered the hall. He paused at the threshold, his gaze sweeping the room, searching for a sign of what had passed between them. 

Aiden sat calmly at the round table, fingers resting lightly on the wood, his expression as unreadable as ever. Across the room, Lucy stood with her head bowed, her posture still but tense, as if she were bracing herself.

Leo felt a surge of frustration tightening his fists, questions swirling like the storm clouds in his mind. What did you do to her, Aiden? he wondered, anger rising like bile in his throat. He knew his Father's decree was beyond challenge—Aiden had been given free rein, yet Leo had held onto some stubborn hope that perhaps Aiden's arrival would spare Lucy from punishment. But seeing her now, silent and bowed, he felt his insides churn with a darker suspicion. 

How could she stand just there, as if she were nothing more than a piece in some twisted game? Who knows how long she had been standing?

Isabella slipped in behind him, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene before her. Surely, he's punished her by now, she thought, glancing from Lucy to Aiden. But there were no visible signs—no bruises, no trembling.

Lucy's eyes remained downcast, and her stillness was both a relief and a mystery. Isabella bit her lips, her mind racing with its own questions. What are you playing at, Aiden?

Leo crossed the room slowly, his gaze flicking to Lucy as he approached. Her head remained bowed, a curtain of hair hitting her face and he could feel the weight of unspoken words hovering between them. He stepped beside her, his fingers twitching, wishing he could reach out to offer some comfort.

He has never been the type to openly defy his father's orders but the sight of Lucy standing there, vulnerable and subdued, sparked a quiet rebellion inside him.

“Lucy, right?” He spoke her name softly, his voice a mixture of caution and concern. She didn't lift her gaze but he could sense the subtle shift in her stance as if his presence alone brought her a semblance of solace.

How did it come to this? he pondered, a flicker of regret catching him off guard. He looked at her for a long moment, her silence only amplifying the questions pounding in his head.

Finally, he turned to Aiden, eyes narrowing as he took in the man who had always seemed to exist solely to test his patience. His fists clenched at his sides. He took a step forward until he stood directly in front of Aiden.

Aiden's silence felt like a provocation as if he were dating Leo to speak his mind, to challenge him outright.

Meanwhile, Isabella moved to Lucy, her hand gently encircling Lucy's arm as she searched her face for any signs of harm. Her eyes, sharp and assessing, scanned Lucy's expression, trying to read the unspoken words hidden in her downcast gaze.

Leaning close, Isabella whispered, her voice a soft murmur that only Lucy could hear.

“What did he do to you?” she asked, brows knitting in concern. “Did he hurt you? Say something.”

Lucy's lips parted as if to respond but no words came out. The silence was heavy, her mind a storm of thoughts she couldn't yet untangle. She lowered her gaze, leaving Isabella with nothing more than a quiet, uncertain glance. 

How could she explain the way she felt—the strange, disarming sense of safety even as she stood inches away from the man everyone seemed to fear?

Across the room, Leo's patience was wearing thin. He cleared his throat, the sound reverberating through the hall, demanding Aiden's attention. “Aiden,” he said, his tone low and clipped, but there was a note of unease there, a ripple in his voice that betrayed his emotions.

Aiden looked up, his gaze hardening as it settled on Leo, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “Oh?” he murmured, his voice laced with something that felt like mockery. “And why, Leo, would you care what I did or didn't do with her?”

Leo's jaw tightened, and for a moment, he was speechless, the question catching him off guard. The words that had been on the tip of his tongue faltered and he glanced at Isabella and then at Lucy, their attention now fully captured by the charged exchange between him and Aiden.

“So,” Leo bit one end of his lips, his voice low and measured, “Is this what punishment looks like to you, huh? Making her stand for hours with her head bowed, huh? Do what you have to do and let her go… we have other things we need to attend to, don't you think?”

Aiden met his gaze, unmoved, a glimmer of something unreadable flickering in his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, unhurried, his fingers drumming softly against the table's surface. “Punishment,” he repeated as if tasting the word. “Is that what you expected to find here?”

Leo clenched his jaw, fighting to keep his voice steady. “I expected you to follow my father's command.”

Aiden gave a slight nod, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “And I have, in my own way.”

Beside him, Lucy shifted, her hands twisting in front of her and Leo felt a pang in his chest. Was that fear, or something else? he wondered, watching her closely. The calm facade Aiden wore only intensified his own confrontation, the sense that he was missing some critical piece to this puzzle.

Isabella, who had been watching from the sidelines, crossed her arms and let out a quiet huff. “Prince Aiden, this is not a game… with all due respect, I know you have your own style of punishment… but I expected more… more action, perhaps.”

Aiden's gaze flickered to her, his expression hardening ever so slightly. “Isabella,” he replied coolly, “You have no right to question my judgment… don't you think?” he tilted his head.

Isabella kept mute unable to meet his gaze.

“Not everything requires theatrics. Some things are best left quiet.”

“I'm sorry… I just thought… since when do you care for subtlety… I didn't mean to offend you, Prince Aiden.”

“Isabella!” He narrowed his eyes, his legs crossed as he continued. “So… you mean to say that all you want to see is blood on her skin with lots of bruises, right?”

Isabella swallowed hard, unable to reply to his question. He took a brief look at Lucy and the shifted her eyes to Leo who was already watching her, like he was anticipating the response she was going to give.

“I thought as much… it's not a bad thing for a mistress to hate her maid.” 

Leo felt his pulse quickened, a strange tension coiling tight in his chest. This didn't make sense. Aiden, the Aiden he knew—cold and with a heart buried so deep that it might well not exist—was letting Lucy stand there unscathed. She looked untouched, unshaken, even with her head bowed as if she was trying to shrink out of sight.

But there was no mark, no visible sign of punishment Leo had expected. And it was his father, Alpha Eric himself who had decreed it—so what had stopped him? What had stopped Aiden?

What was he doing, holding back like this? The Aiden, Leo has grown up knowing never turned down an opportunity to assert his power. He would relish it. And yet here, faced with Lucy, Aiden's resolve had flickered, softened, just enough to make Leo's stomach twist with a feeling he didn't dare name.

It wasn't only anger now—it was confusion, the kind that gnawed at him, made his fists clenched involuntarily. He stole a glance at Lucy, still bowed, still silent, wondering what spell she'd cast over Aiden in the space of a few moments.

He wanted to believe it was just a game, some cruel trick Aiden was toying with, but the glint in Aiden's eyes had seemed… genuine. Too genuine.

At Leo's side, Isabella's thoughts were spinning. She couldn't hide the edge of shock that rippled through her. Lucy had been nothing more than a servant—a maid no one noticed except when something needed cleaning, fixing. That's how it should've stayed. That was her place, and how, seeing her hear with no punishment? No sign of the decree enforced?

Her eyes flickered between Aiden and Lucy, and she felt something sharp stir inside her—a cold suspicion. Aiden had been so quick to talk about punishing her, and Isabella had wanted it, wanted to see Lucy put back in her place. But now… here Lucy was, untouched, standing there like she belonged in this room. Like she was something more than the help.

Isabella's mouth tightened. Though she felt the urge to speak, she couldn't, unsure of how Aiden might react.

Aiden soon stood up on his feet, his smirk deepened and his eyes narrowing as he stepped forward. His voice dropped to a low murmur, intended only for Leo's ears. “I think there's something written all over you, Leo,” he whispered, his tone darkly amused. “The way you keep watching her. The way you're so eager to know what I've done with her. Are you sure your interest in Lucy is… purely noble?”

A flicker of panic crossed Leo's face, barely perceptible but enough for Aiden to catch it. He took a step back, his chest rising and falling with the barely restrained fury of being so easily seen through. He glanced at Lucy, the slight widening of her eyes and Isabella's raised brows told him they had overheated enough to sense something was amiss.

“What are you insinuating?” Leo hissed, his voice cracking just slightly, betraying the vulnerability he so desperately wanted to conceal. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, the burn of Aiden's words taking root in his mind.

Aiden straightened, his expression cool and composed as he watched the shift in Leo's demeanor. He could see the cracks forming, the silent admission in Leo's response and he allowed himself the faintest smile, satisfied.

“I don't need to insinuate anything.” Aiden replied smoothly, his glare flicking briefly to Lucy,as if she were both the question and the answer to all of this. “But you might want to ask yourself, Leo, why you care so much about someone you claim to despise.”

Leo opened his mouth to retort.