Chapter Five: The Midnight Ride
The clock crept toward midnight, and the gala's energy changed. The auction was over. The champagne was gone. What had started as elegant slowly loosened into loud. The room buzzed with tired laughter. People were leaning against walls, forgetting their posture.
Sophia stuck by my side. We'd had three more dances. All three were with men Sophia called "essential connections." Each one was kind, but old enough to be my grandfather. Their hands were warm and dry. Their jokes were gentle. By the end of the last dance, my feet ached. The borrowed green dress felt heavy.
That's when Aurora found us.
She moved through the crowd like a quiet boat through water. She still looked perfect, but her smile was thin. I saw the tiredness around her eyes. She touched Sophia's arm.
"Darling, it's time," she said softly. "Your father's ready to leave. He's nearly asleep on his feet."
Sophia's face fell. "Already? But Mom, Aira needs to get back to her dorm."
Aurora turned to me. Her kindness felt real, but worn. "Don't worry, dear. We'll send a car for you. Charles can arrange it."
I started to say thank you. But Sophia shook her head.
"It's late, and the dorm is in the opposite direction. I can go with her."
"Sophia," Aurora said. Her voice was still gentle, but it had a mother's finality. "You're coming home. Now."
She looked at me again, her eyes apologizing.
"Rowan will take you home. He'll make sure you get there safely."
My breath caught. Rowan?
I looked around. I hadn't seen him for over an hour.
"He's wrapping up a conversation," Aurora added, as if reading my mind. "He won't be long."
She gave my hand a quick squeeze. Then she guided Sophia away. Sophia shot me a helpless look over her shoulder.
"Text me!" she mouthed.
And then they were gone.
Suddenly, the grand hall felt very big. And I felt very small. I stood alone by a large potted fern, clutching my small beaded purse. I could call a taxi. But the thought of waiting outside the dark, gated entrance made my skin prickle.
"Aira?"
I turned. Julian Thorne was walking toward me. He'd taken off his jacket. His shirt sleeves were rolled up. He looked comfortable, real.
"I saw Sophia leave," he said. Concern softened his features. "Do you need a ride?"
Relief washed through me. A friendly face. A simple solution.
"I was just going to call a cab," I admitted.
He shook his head. "Absolutely not. It's too late for that. Let me take you. I'm heading into the city anyway."
It sounded so easy. So safe.
"That's very kind of you," I said, my shoulders relaxing.
He offered his arm. It felt natural to take it.
The night air outside was cold. It bit through the thin silk of my dress. His car waited at the bottom of the steps—a sleek, dark sedan. He opened the back door for me. I slid across the smooth leather seat. He got in beside me and closed the door. The sound was solid, final.
"Bracken Hall dormitory, please," he told the driver.
"Yes, sir."
The car pulled away smoothly. The mansion's golden lights shrank in the rear window.
"Long night," Julian said. He leaned back, stretching his legs out a little. "You held up well."
I gave a tired smile. "It was a lot. But nice. The Royces are… warm."
"They are," he agreed. "A good family. Intense, but good." He paused. "Rowan, especially. He's very protective."
I looked out at the dark trees whipping past. "He seems to take his role seriously."
"He does," Julian said. His tone was light, but there was something underneath it. "Sometimes too seriously. It can be hard for people to get close."
The car turned, slowing as it approached the property's main gate. But instead of going through, it pulled onto a smaller, darker driveway and stopped.
"One moment," Julian said to me. "This side gate is quicker after hours."
He got out of the car. I saw him walk to the driver's window and lean in, speaking quietly.
I waited. The quiet hum of the engine was the only sound.
A minute passed. Then another.
A small knot of unease tightened in my stomach. Why had we stopped here? It was just a gatehouse, dark and empty.
Suddenly, my door was wrenched open.
Cold night air flooded the car.
Rowan stood there. He was breathing hard, as if he'd been running. His shirt sleeves were shoved up to his elbows. His face was stark in the dim light—all sharp angles and dark, blazing eyes.
"Get out of the car, Aira."
My heart leaped into my throat. "Rowan? What's happening?"
"Now." The word was a command, low and urgent.
I scrambled out, my heels catching on the gravel. He caught my elbow, his grip firm and sure, holding me steady. The moment I was upright, he let go, as if my skin burned him.
Julian turned from the driver's window. He looked calm, but his body was tense. "Rowan. I was taking her home."
"No," Rowan said. His voice was flat, absolute. "You weren't."
The two men faced each other. The air between them crackled.
"This route goes past your new warehouses," Rowan continued. His words were clipped, icy. "You've used it before. I know what happens there. I know what you do."
Julian's pleasant mask slipped. For a second, I saw something else—something cold and calculating. Then it was gone.
"I was helping a friend," he said evenly.
"She is not your friend," Rowan shot back, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Leave. Now."
They stared at each other for a long, charged moment. The driver stared straight ahead, pretending to be invisible.
Finally, Julian nodded. A single, tight movement. "Alright."
He looked at me. His eyes were different now. The kindness was gone, replaced by a hollow politeness. "My apologies, Aira."
He got back into the car. The door closed with a soft thud. The car reversed, turned, and disappeared down the dark drive.
Silence rushed in, broken only by the wind in the trees.
I was shivering, but not just from the cold. I hugged my arms around myself.
"What was that?" My voice shook. "You scared me."
Rowan turned to me. The fierce anger was still in his eyes, but now I saw something else underneath. Fear. For me.
"He is not a safe man," Rowan said. The words were heavy.
"And you are?" The words burst out of me. "You just… you just pulled me out of a car like a… a piece of luggage!"
"I was protecting you."
"I didn't ask for your protection! I didn't need it!"
"You didn't know you needed it!" he snapped. The control in his voice frayed. "You see a nice smile and a polite offer, and you think it's safe. The world isn't like your philosophy books, Aira. It's darker."
"I'm not a child," I whispered, furious.
He took a step closer. The space between us felt electric. "Tonight, you are my responsibility. My sister brought you here. That makes you mine to look after."
The words should have made me angrier. They should have felt possessive and arrogant.
But they didn't. A strange, unwanted warmth spread through my chest. My heart hammered against my ribs.
He saw my confusion. He exhaled, a sharp, frustrated sound, and ran a hand through his hair. The gesture was so human, so tired. All the stiff perfection was gone.
"Come on," he said, his voice quieter now. He sounded drained.
He led me to his own car, parked roughly on the grass nearby. It was black, low to the ground, all quiet power. He opened the passenger door for me.
We drove in silence for a long time. The road was a black ribbon under the moon. I watched his hands on the steering wheel. Strong. Certain.
"He would have hurt you," Rowan said suddenly. His voice was low in the dark car. "Maybe not tonight. Maybe not even on purpose. But he uses people. He sees someone gentle… and he takes advantage. I've seen it before."
I looked at his profile. "Why do you care so much? You barely know me."
He was silent for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. The only sound was the engine's hum.
Then, so softly I almost didn't hear it: "Because I can't seem to help it."
He didn't look at me. He kept his eyes on the road. But in that quiet confession, I heard a crack in his armor. A glimpse of a man who was tired of being hard, tired of seeing the worst in everyone.
He cared. Against his own rules, against his own cold logic, he cared.
We didn't speak again. But the silence was different now. It wasn't empty. It was full of things unsaid, of a connection that had just deepened in the darkest way possible.
When the lights of my dorm appeared ahead, he finally spoke.
"Tell Sophia you got back safe."
"I will."
He pulled up to the curb. He didn't get out to open my door. He just sat there, waiting.
I hesitated, my hand on the door handle. "Thank you. For… for the ride."
He gave a single, slight nod. His eyes met mine in the dim light. In them, I saw the storm, the protectiveness, and that strange, undeniable care.
"Goodnight, Aira."
"Goodnight, Rowan."
I walked into the dorm, the silk of my dress whispering around my legs. My mind was racing, my heart still beating a frantic rhythm.
Nothing was simple anymore. The safe, quiet world I'd built was gone. In its place was something sharper, darker, and more real.
And at the center of it all was him.