“You should’ve told us,” Sebastian said softly, his words laced with disappointment.
“It was a mistake,” she admitted, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. “We just wanted to forget it evenhappened. It’s not like it mattered that it did—Willow was his only choice anyway.”
Sebastian fell silent, his grip on her tightening slightly as they continued to sway. Then, after a long pause, he spoke again, his voice so low she almost didn’t hear him.
“In five minutes, go to the rose garden,” he said, his tone urgent.
“What?” Lilia pulled back, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“The rose garden,” Sebastian repeated, his eyes glancing over his shoulder. “He’ll meet you there.”
Lilia followed his gaze, her breath catching in her throat as she realized Augustus was no longer standing with his family. He was gone.
“Go,” Sebastian urged, nodding toward the back of the house.
Without thinking, Lilia hiked up her dress, pressing a quick kiss to Sebastian’s cheek before slipping through the crowd, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way toward the garden.
The night air hit her like a shock to the system, cold and biting as she hurried toward the garden, her dress billowing around her legs as she ran. The soft scent of roses filled the air, mingling with the distant hum of the party still going on inside the house. And for a brief moment, Lilia felt free. Free of the expectations, the whispers, the fear that had been choking her for weeks. Free to just exist, if only for a moment.
She reached the garden, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she slowed to a stop. The roses glowed softly in the moonlight, their petals pale and delicate against the dark sky.
And then she saw him. Augustus. Standing at the edge of the garden, his face bathed in the silvery light of the moon.
Without thinking, Lilia stepped forward, her heart hammering in her chest. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for, and dreading, all at once.
The garden was quiet, the sounds of the party muffled by the walls of the house behind them. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting long, soft shadows across the rosebushes. The sweet scent of the flowers filled the air, but it did nothing to calm Lilia’s racing heart as she stood before Augustus.
They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of everything left unsaid hanging between them like a fragile thread ready to snap.
“You look beautiful,” Augustus said quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper.
“Thank you,” she whispered back, her voice soft.
More silence. The air between them grew heavy, charged with tension.
“Are you okay?” Augustus asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Lilia’s gaze dropped to the ground. “Are you?” she countered softly.
“It doesn’t matter.” Augustus’ voice was raw, tinged with something darker—fear, guilt, desperation. “They’re ripping you apart in the media right now. There are articles saying . . . well, I’m sure you’ve seen them.”
Lilia swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. Of course, she had seen them. The headlines, the gossip. How she’d been jealous of Willow. How she wanted Willow dead so that she could have Augustus all to herself. The words felt like poison seeping into her veins, eating away at her.
“I’m fine,” she lied, the words hollow and fragile on her lips.
Augustus shook his head, his expression softening. “You’re horrible at that,” he said, his tone gentle but firm. “You’ve never been the best at lying, especially not to me. So please don’t start now.”
Lilia looked away, her heart aching as the truth clawed its way to the surface. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” she murmured, her voice trembling. “I’m not okay. The entire townthinks I killed my best friend—my mother can’t even look at me, and I’m probably going to be arrested.” Her words came out in a rush, a flood of everything she had been holding back.
“I won’t let that happen,” Augustus said, his voice steady, though his eyes betrayed his own uncertainty.
She shook her head, the emotions too much to bear. “I’m not okay,” she finally admitted, the words slipping out before she could stop them.
Augustus took a step closer, his eyes searching hers, pleading. “Tell me what to do,” he whispered, his voice breaking with desperation. They were so close now that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin.
Her pulse quickened, and her breath caught in her throat. The world around them seemed to fall away, leaving just the two of them standing in the garden, the air thick with unspoken words and emotions too powerful to contain.
They were inches apart now, so close she could see the pain in his eyes, the longing etched into every line of his face. Her heart pounded in her chest, and before she could stop herself, she closed the distance between them.
