Ch#85
Ch#85
Ch#85
~Chapter 85~
“Genoa’s greatest seducer, they say, but it looks like Thez Locke has lost his touch.” Bella sneered coldly from where she sat on the edge of the lavish round bed.
“To think he can’t even properly seduce a little girl like Harriet.”
Thez laughed it off as if her words didn’t bother him in the slightest. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside carelessly. Then, like a leisurely predator, he crawled across the soft sheets, approaching her with slow, deliberate movements until he was right in front of her.
“You’re too impatient, Bella,” he said smoothly. “Someone who’s been burned once doesn’t fall so easily. You have to take your time.”
Bella narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “So, how long am I supposed to wait?”
Thez smiled with a sly glint in his eye. “I’m working on it. I’m slowly breaking down her walls. To her, I’ll seem like the only person in the world who’s truly sincere.”
Bella raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Really? I heard you two didn’t even run into each other at the last party.”
“You’re wrong.” Thez grinned roguishly. “We crossed paths at the perfect time, in the perfect place. If only there hadn’t been that interloper, things would’ve progressed quite a bit.”
The cushion sank under his weight, tilting Bella toward him. Her body leaned in close, pressing against his, but even at such proximity, her expression remained icy.
Thez reached out and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. But Bella didn’t melt under his touch. Her face stayed sharp, laced with irritation.
“Interloper? Sounds like an excuse to me.”
“It’s true,” Thez drawled, lazily running his fingers through her hair. “How was I supposed to know someone would show up? And that guy just stood there, not moving an inch until I left.”
Only then did Bella’s eyes sharpen.
“Who was it?”
“Cedric Kailas,” Thez said with a slow, dangerous smile. “No idea what he was doing there.”
He let her silken hair slip through his fingers, his smile widening. Genoa’s Golden Rose—Bella—was finally in his arms. He’d fantasized about this moment for so long.
Who could’ve guessed that Harriet Listerwell’s return would lead him here?
He’d been surprised when Bella contacted him secretly. But the reason she proposed shocked him even more.
“Seduce Harriet. Toy with her and then discard her. Ruin her completely.”
In exchange, Bella had practically begged to give herself to him without hesitation. That heated night when she laid out her plan was, by Thez’s standards, one of the most debauched and thrilling nights of his life.
So there was no need to rush.
As long as he kept Harriet on the hook, he could savor this sweetness a little longer.
Thez’s plan was simple. Pretend to seduce Harriet as an excuse to keep coming back to Bella. And when Bella finally grew tired of him, he’d simply dump Harriet as she wished.
It was a win-win. At least until now.
Until he’d actually seen Harriet at the Laurel Party.
‘She’s too exquisite to just toy with and discard.’
He hadn’t realized how much she’d changed. The once innocent, shy demeanor had layered into maturity and subtle defiance. She wasn’t the fool Bella made her out to be.
In fact, having met her face-to-face, Thez knew she was clever. She was on her guard, thoroughly so, but not entirely out of reach.
‘This one’s going to take some effort. Maybe even more than Bella.’
There was immense appeal in breaking down a woman with such strong will. He imagined how sweet she’d taste once that tough shell finally cracked and he held her in his arms.
The thought alone made his body tremble with desire.
But right now, the one tangled with him was Bella.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his lips brushing her sensitive skin.
“I told you, let’s talk about it later. She’s on guard right now, so I’ll take it slow. Make it look natural.”
“You can really be trusted with this?” Bella asked, narrowing her eyes.
“You know better than anyone. When it comes to men, Harriet’s hopeless. She’ll fall for me soon enough. And women like that are the scariest. Once they taste pleasure, they get addicted.”
His hand slipped skillfully under her shirt, grazing her skin.
“Relax, Bella. I’ll give you exactly what you want.”
“I want that bitch destroyed,” she growled. “Completely. Broken to the point she wants to die. Do you understand?”
“Thanks to you, I’ll be branded a total villain.”
“That’s the price for having Bella Listerwell.”
“Accepted.”
With that, Thez crushed his lips against hers, his hand gripping her soft breast. Bella’s body responded, but her eyes remained fierce.
‘Cedric Kailas… Why does his name keep coming up in everything involving Harriet?’
It was she who’d orchestrated situations for Cedric and Harriet to cross paths. The soap from Saint Clarissa Convent, the rumors of Harriet visiting Killas Mansion—everything seemed to point somewhere.
But of all times, for Cedric himself to appear when Harriet was with Thez.
Cedric Kailas and Harriet Listerwell…
She tried to imagine them together, then scoffed at her own imagination.
’No, impossible.’
Just then, Thez’s tongue brushed her sensitive spot, and she let out an involuntary scream.
“Ahh!”
Thez smiled in satisfaction at the sound. Bella loved moments like this. Moments when a man’s senses unraveled at her slightest moan.
She shook off her scattered thoughts about Cedric and Harriet, surrendering to the pleasure Thez offered.
After all, if there was one thing Thez Locke excelled at, it was this.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The clock in the corridor sounded like stitches sewing through the night’s silence.
It was a quiet hour. Too quiet. And in that stillness, Cedric could hear every tick of the second hand as clearly as if it were drumming in his chest.
It might have been the silence. Or perhaps the thoughts he couldn’t shake.
“…Hah.”
Realizing he wouldn’t fall back asleep tonight either, Cedric rose from the bed.
Moonlight poured through the unshuttered window, bathing the room in silvery blue light.
Since the Laurel Party, he hadn’t slept properly. A week had passed, but every time he closed his eyes, one particular memory surfaced.
「Cedric… wait… just a little…」
Her voice rang in his ears. Sweet and trembling.
Recalling it replayed the scene in his mind. The moment under the lace shawl, the two of them pressed close in the darkness.
He couldn’t focus on work. Couldn’t concentrate. But worse than the distraction was the guilt.
‘…Even if it was the drug’s effect… how could I…’
Cedric dragged his hands down his face.
Now he understood what people meant when they said they wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
Harriet had been completely vulnerable, and yet she’d sacrificed her own reputation to protect his honor. Meanwhile, he’d barely suppressed the overwhelming desire surging toward her until the very moment they parted.
‘She’s practically a saint. Is that what growing up in a convent does to you?’
He didn’t remember everything clearly, but the important parts were etched in his mind.
Chasing after her.
Scaring off the man she was with.
And, in total disregard of how inappropriate it was, sticking to her side like glue.
「I don’t know how to pull myself together. But I think I know what might make me feel better.」
What kind of horrific line was that? Just thinking about it made him shudder.
It was undoubtedly the most embarrassing thing he’d ever said in his life.
And of course, that wasn’t even the worst of it.
“……”
He lightly touched his lips with his fingers. The memory alone burned his throat.
Her lips on his… that softness, the warmth, the way she followed his lead, her shy yet eager tongue chasing his… The hesitant but willing response was addictive.
“Damn it.”
He clutched his face again.
He never imagined having such a physical experience with a woman.
His future had been perfectly planned. Marry the daughter of a powerful family, produce an heir, maintain dignity. Passion or intimacy had no place in that equation.
There was no room in such a life for the desire he’d felt that night.
But with Harriet… he’d felt something real. Something unforgettable.
If he could experience that kiss just once more, he’d kneel before her.
Finally, he admitted the truth to himself.
He’d always believed he was different from other men. More restrained, more rational.
But now he realized he wasn’t so different after all.
Rumors had started spreading after that night.
‘Harriet Listerwell was seen in a passionate embrace with some man.’
She was being called a “scandal maker” again—because of him.
‘She’s suffering again because of me.’
Hadn’t he already sent her to the convent once? Wasn’t that enough?
And now this.
There were witnesses. The rumors couldn’t be stopped. And if he intervened, the scandal would only grow.
Cedric crossed his arms, staring at the floor in thought.
‘I owe her. And I have to repay that debt—with interest.’
To wash away this dishonor, he needed something bigger than gossip. Recognition, power, influence.
Things only he could give her.
‘The strongest connection I can offer her is…’
His eyes narrowed with resolve.
The time to repay the debt had come.
And the only way—
—was to give her the greatest honor he possessed.
