Chapter 46 Curtains Drawn
The black gown hugged her frame, but it was the details that completed the picture. A collarbone chain looped twice around her pale neck, glittering with deep blue sapphires. Her dark hair was swept up and fixed with a single silver hairpin, understated yet elegant. Against that, her face shone bright and graceful, carrying both nobility and quiet refinement.
With every step she took, the sheer wrap at her arm and waist drifted, a trail of starlight in motion.
Alan’s eyes followed it down. His gaze lingered where the gauze veiled the curve of her waist and hips. His throat bobbed, the urge to take her by the waist flashing hot and insistent. He knew all too well how soft his wife’s waist was.
Timothy, watching from above, noticed something off.
Claudia and Jade had gone, yet Alan still stood rooted on the stairs, distant, as if caught in thought.
“Hey,” Timothy called, suspicion narrowing his eyes. “What was that? You were staring at Claudia. Don’t tell me you’re stepping out on Summer.”
He wasn’t wrong to doubt. The way Alan had looked at Claudia hadn’t been indifferent. But it wasn’t quite affection either. Whatever it was, it unsettled him.
And none of it was acceptable.
Summer and Alan were the perfect match–family to family, status to status. Claudia, in his eyes, was nothing but a schemer clawing her way up the ladder.
Alan didn’t bother answering. He strode toward the private box upstairs.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Timothy chased after him.
Alan’s patience thinned. At the threshold of the Moore family’s box, he turned. “Keep this up and you won’t be welcome in here.”
That won’t do!” Timothy ducked inside without hesitation.
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Chapter 46 Curtains Drawn
Alan gave him a sidelong glance, irritation flickering. “Doesn’t your family have a box? Why not sit with your brother?”
Timothy shuddered. “Please, no. He’s gone mad lately. Every time he sees me, he wants to beat me bloody. I’m safer here.”
He flopped onto the sofa, then added quickly, “Besides, once Summer’s done performing, she’ll come here. I haven’t seen her in days. What’s wrong with me waiting in here?”
Alan’s eyes cut toward him, sharp.
Timothy threw up his hands. “Don’t look at me like that. Summer doesn’t even like me. She’s all about you, and everyone knows it.”
Alan only smiled faintly, offering nothing more. He moved to the window, pressed a button, and the heavy velvet curtains began to rise. The stage below came into view.
Timothy, restless, muttered, “Wait a second–did I see that right? Claudia came in with Jade? They’re both surnamed Sue… Don’t tell me they’re related?”
Then he shook his head, dismissing his own thought. “Impossible. Jade’s always claimed she was an orphan, no family. Must be coincidence.”
He snorted. “Claudia’s from some backwater family. I checked. She cut ties with her past the moment she wormed her way into the Moores. Ruthless, greedy, trash. No way she’s got ties to someone like Jade.”
Alan glanced at him, voice cool. “When did you get so nosy?”
Before Timothy could retort, the curtains in the adjoining box lifted as well.
Alan turned—and locked eyes with Claudia.
For a moment, neither moved, neither spoke.
Their boxes were side by side.
Then she looked away and retreated inside.
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Chapter 46 Curtains Drawn
“Oh, right—Summer’s parents should be arriving soon. Timothy scrambled to the window again. Sure enough, he spotted Chandler and Mrs. Zach entering below greeting guests on the main floor.
“Alan?” He gestured toward them.
Alan’s smile was calm. “Relax. I already had Nathan extend the invitation.”
Without him, the Zachs wouldn’t have made it upstairs. Their family had money, but not the pedigree. His name changed that.
Timothy bristled, frustrated. He would’ve preferred to bring them up under the Taurine banner, but his brother would never allow it. These days he was barely managing to dodge the man’s temper, hiding here in Alan’s shadow. He couldn’t afford to stir things up.
The thought made him grind his teeth. “I don’t get it. Why does my brother hate Summer so much? He won’t even let me talk to her. She’s perfect! And now, with her back in the country, he’s breathing down my neck every time I even look her way. He’s acting like he’s in menopause or something.”
Alan let out a soft, amused laugh. “Why not go tell him that yourself?”
