Chapter 0137

I see him put the pieces together as he clenches his jaw and moves his eyes back to mine. “Good morning, Fay,” he says, his

calm belying the anger I can see roiling behind his eyes.

“Good morning, Kent,” I whisper, leaning against the doorframe, wanting the support.

Kent opens his mouth to say something but then snaps it shut, looking down again at the suit jacket and then turning his head to

look down the hall. Or, at least that’s the direction of his gaze. I can tell from his unfocused eyes that he’s not looking at anything

— just staring into space as he puts together his thoughts.

“I have new instructions for you,” he says after a moment, still not looking at me. I watch him, curious, my anxiety increasing. If

he just has instructions, why didn’t he wait to give them to me at breakfast, like he always does?

“All right,” I say quietly, waiting for him to continue.

But he doesn't. Instead, he just nods abruptly and turns away, heading back down stairs. I watch him go, baffled, but noting that

he doesn’t look at me again. Not once.

Almost as if he can’t.

Alittle smirk pulls at my lips as I slowly shut my bedroom door and look down at Ivan’s suitcoat. Well. That hadn’t been my

intention, when I put it on....But it certainly yielded results, didn’t it?

I take careful note, and then head to my bathroom to start getting dressed for my day. When I return from my shower, I see that

my clothes delivery has arrived and that it contains a crisp little blazer in just my size. I smile and tuck lvan’s jacket away behind

the headboard of my bed, hoping that the household staff won’t find it there. I’m not ready to say goodbye to it, not just yet, and I

know that if I leave it in my wardrobe today that, by this evening, it will have mysteriously disappeared.

Twenty minute later I head downstairs for breakfast, dressed in the suitcoat and chic grey slacks that Kent chose for me. It’s a

more formal and restrained look than I’m used to, and I’m curious about what he has planned for me. I’m certainly not going to

the stables, after all — not dressed like this.

When I push through the door to the kitchen, though, the first person I see is Daniel. My stomach drops and I hesitate when he

looks up to meet my gaze. He does not look happy.

Instead, for the first time since I’ve known him, Daniel refuses to smile at me. He just looks at me, grim. A little angry. Then, his

eyes flick to the empty chair across from him, a demand as much as an invitation.