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84: Retribution
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2021-03-04 17:20:58Andrew stared down at Evelyn’s tear-streaked face, his temper rapidly reaching flashpoint. The mark across her cheek was even more prominent closer to the faint light from the overhead lamps. He was sick of men taking advantage of her delicate size. Infuriated that they’d think they ever had the reason or right to strike a woman.
More than anything, he was enraged that the woman impacted was the one to which he’d laid his claim.
Her slender fingers curled daintily over his harm, pulling gently but insistently. “Mr. Laurel helped me. He pulled Daniel off me. Please, Andrew. Let him go. He’s not responsible for this.”
Immediately, his hands relaxed. “Mr. Laurel,” he stepped backwards a pace, drawing Evelyn with him, “my apologies.”
Straightening his rumpled clothes as best he could, the actor nodded. “It was an easy misconception. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least for the part you witnessed.” He eyeballed Daniel Prince’s limp figure u
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The hotel’s ballroom was a gently baroque style. Its elegant space was replete with all manner of luxuries one would expect of a high-profile hotel, no matter where one might visit in the world—custom paneled with artfully etched-mirror and plaster walls, gold-leafed accents and intricate crown moldings. Above the near-magical dancefloor, which was lit from below, hung in the decorative ceiling, a ponderous crystal chandelier lit the warm wooden dancefloor beneath it. Along the periphery, undulating balconies supported by Corinthian pilasters gave an air of classicism to the space, but one not overly staid. These generous galleries provided seating for those who had only come for a meal, to watch the dancing or to listen to the orchestra. They’d dressed for a late dinner, but though the orchestra played, their music broadcast exactly as Evelyn had always dreamed of experiencing, she and Andrew hadn’t danced. In fact, they hadn’t stayed much longer than
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