She was beautiful and he couldn't look away.
For a moment, the room dissolved. He was vaguely aware of Helga's fingers curling possessively around his arm.
He stared at Aria like a man unable to stop the train wreck from happening right in front of him. This was a mistake he couldn't undo.
He felt like he was watching a version of himself from a great distance, one perfectly choreographed.
Helga kissed Dorian's cheek. He could feel her voice go up a register, playing nice for Ophelia. Aria stood a step behind, barely visible. His mother would call it poise, but he knew better. That was her bracing.
Dorian's introduction sliced the air like a blade.
"This is Aria, Ophelia's...carer."
Carer.The word sat in his mouth like metal.
Crispin swallowed like his throat was full of broken glass.
Helga's eyes flicked to Aria and back again. She smiled like she was above it all. Crispin felt a muscle in his jaw twitch, though he covered it by turning to embrace Ophelia.
There was a warm moment of laughter, old memories. It helped him escape, just for a second.
But Aria didn't join in. Her presence remained distant, untouchable. Her eyes were firmly on the floor.
In a sudden moment of clarity, he knew how badly he had failed her. The sensation was like the grate of a rusty blade against bone. He longed to reach out, to brush her arm. He longed to say something-ask if she was alright, if she'd eaten. Of course, she wasn’t alright, and food would be the last thing on her mind right now.
He would explain everything. He just had to get through this party.
The night stretched endlessly.
Crispin poured wine, laughed at the right places, nodded at industry legends and fended off questions about Helga. Dorian made his rounds like a wolf on the prowl. Aria had disappeared into the crowd with Ophelia at her side, and Crispin's attention was splintered as his eyes searched.
He drifted until the low hush told him his family had arrived.His mother looked perfect in dove-grey silk. His father, stern but smiling. Alice was quiet, her pale blue dress making her seem even more remote than usual.
His mother hugged Helga like she was already part of the family.
Crispin stood stiffly through it all.
Across the room, Aria was perched at the edge of a chair, half-lit by candlelight, her hands folded so tightly in her lap he could see the tension from here.
Chapter 20
Crispin
Then the room was shifting again like the set of a well-choreographed play-dinner was announced, seating guided, glasses refilled.
He watched as Aria took her place at Ophelia's side, her movements lacking their usual grace. It was almost like she was trying to disappear.
He noticed Laura, Dorian's mother, lean towards her and say something. Then, like a blade, Ophelia said something sharp.
The moment passed, but Crispin's heart stayed in his throat.
She shouldn't have to do this without me by her side,came a stray thought.
His eyes swept the room but returned to her bent head, time and time again, like a homing pigeon.
Again. Again. Again.
He was vaguely aware of his mother announcing something.
