Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Perhaps that’s the problem.” His grin widens. “Perhaps that’s why you’ve found yourself in this situation, Majesty.”
Rouge widens her eyes. For once, she’s been silenced.
Her eyes glisten with calculations as she darts her gaze around the room from Chet, to me, to Vanya, to the bodies of the three Kings, to Bianca, and then back to Chet. They almost glow with defiance.
And she pulls the final move in her arsenal.
She snaps Chet’s blade from her throat and plucks a second diamond-encrusted dagger from her cleavage. Before Chet can retaliate, she aims it at herself, eyeing Bianca.
“You can take Aces out of my cold, dead fingers, sister.”
And she plunges the dagger into her breast.
Blood spurts from her chest, and she slowly sinks into a sitting position on the edge of her bed.
“Rouge!” Bianca runs to her sister’s side, taking her hand. “What have you done?”
A final grin inches across her face. “No one will feel the beat of a Queen’s heart except for me.”
The light leaves her eyes, and she lies back on the bed. Dead.
Bianca throws herself over her sister’s body. She’s crying.
She hated her, but Rouge was still her sister. Bianca must be feeling a tangled mess of emotions right now. I rush to her side, throw my arm around her shoulders.
“It’s going to be okay, babe.”
She wipes her eyes. “I know. It’s just… I don’t know.” She extends two of her fingers and closes Rouge’s eyelids, sniffling. She then looks around. “Where’s Chet?”
I look over my shoulder. “Shit. He’s gone.”
He must have disappeared into the night, the ghost of his grinning mug still lingering over us.
And already I know I’ll never see him again.
EPILOGUE
BIANCA
“Maddox Hathaway, do you take Alissa Maravilla as your lawfully wedded wife?”
We’re in the Wrigley Mansion, which has been outfitted with streamers in cobalt blue, mint green, and light pink. A wedding arch laced with white roses stands at the forefront of the room, the Chicago skyline standing steadfastly through a wide window, framing the three people standing at the altar beautifully. In the middle is a minister—Father Liam—wearing a sharp dark Armani suit no doubt chosen by the groom himself.
At his right, dressed in a sleek three-piece number with a red velvet bow tie, stands Maddox Hathaway, fully recovered after being brought to the brink of death in the Caterpillar Hotel. After a year of physical therapy and a high-protein diet, he’s recovered all the muscles in his chest and biceps that atrophied, and it’s clear he chose the cut of his jacket to highlight them.
And to the minister’s left stands the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Alissa Maravilla, shrouded in a lacy veil that resembles the half-melted snow covering half the Chicago sidewalks. Her dress is sleek and understated, the exact opposite of what my own sister would have worn had she ever consented to marry. Her hair is styled in an elegant updo with an intricate bun in the back, and she’s holding a bouquet of white roses that match the ones in the arch.
“I do,” Maddox replies with a devilish smile.
The minister turns to Alissa. “And do you, Alissa Maravilla, take Maddox Hathaway as your lawfully wedded husband?”
She breathes in, seemingly taking in the aroma of her bouquet and the contentedness in her life as she does so. “I most certainly do.”
“Then by the power invested in me by the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Father Liam grins. “You may kiss the bride.”
Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway embrace and lock lips, and I gaze across the room at Harrison. He’s in a suit matching Maddox’s, standing right at his side as his best man. Dinah is Alissa’s maid of honor, but I’m in her wedding party along with a few of her friends from Northwestern. It didn’t really seem fair, since they’ve all known her for years, but she did say playing a part in saving her life was enough to earn a spot in her party for life.
Maddox has been flying back and forth from New Haven. He’s attending school at Yale part time to earn his degree in political science to unlock the funds left behind by his father. He has no desire to do anything with the degree once it’s conferred, but he’s also been taking some business classes. He plans to expand the haberdashery into a second location in the heart of the Loop soon.
Alissa has manned the haberdashery when Maddox is out of town with the help of Vanya. It took a lot of coaxing to make Maddox loosen the reins of his shop, but a year of being with Alissa has thawed his rigidity. They needed to bring Vanya on after Alissa got a very exciting call from the Chicago Symphony—she emailed them as soon as she could explaining why she was a no-show to her audition. They were very understanding but had already filled the position by the time she got in contact with them. Alissa got a great consolation prize, though—she’s the CSO’s first call whenever they need a substitute, or if they’re programming a larger work that requires extra flautists. She’s already performed Mahler’s third and Strauss’s Alpine Symphony with them this season. Harrison and I have attended every time she’s performed, and she’s been absolutely glowing when we meet her in the lobby. It’s clear this is the path she was meant to walk, and she wouldn’t have ever returned to music had she not met Maddox. When she’s not working with the orchestra, she’s been taking gigs and working with a smaller local chamber ensemble. Another position will open up at the CSO or some other major orchestra eventually, and she’ll get a great letter of recommendation from the conductor when it does. She splits her time between her music and helping with Maddox’s shop, and she told me she’s never been happier.