Switched Bride True Luna novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

“Meet me in the gardens this afternoon, we’ll talk more then. I have some business to attend to,” she said, not leaving any room for argument.

Chloe had chosen the garden terrace deliberately. Discretion was always more enjoyable when the setting was beautiful.

She leaned against the curved stone railing, arms folded loosely over her waist, the picture of calm. But inside, she was watching the path from the main corridor with a predator’s patience.

Reid arrived late.

He looked the worse for wear: eyes dark, jaw tense, hair slightly russed with worry. His coat was unbuttoned. His steps were deliberate, as if he were walking into battle and couldn’t decide which weapon to draw.

“You have five minutes,” he said flatly.

Chloe didn’t pretend to be offended. “Plenty of time,” she said with a shrug.

“I’m not marrying you,” he said, his voice low, firm. “I don’t care what lies you spin or how many photos you took. I have a Mate. And I may have made a mistake last night, but I won’t humiliate her to clean it up.”

Chloe looked at him for a long moment, letting the silence linger. Then she tilted her head slightly. “I never asked you to marry me.”

That gave him pause.

She stepped forward, slowly. “You think I want your little potential title? A Pack seat that still smells like your father’s sweat? No. What I want is relevance and credibility. Access.”

“You want to use me.”

“I want you to stand next to me at the right moments. Nothing official or course, or anything that would look suspicious. Just look pretty and make people ask questions.”

His eyes narrowed. “You want to be seen with me.”

“I want to be seen with power,” she corrected. “And you’re still clinging to enough of it to be useful.”

Reid’s jaw worked. “You drugged me.”

“You were never supposed to drink that glass,” she said simply. “But you did. And now we’re here.”

He took a step forward, fists clenched. “You think I’ll keep your secrets? You think I’ll pretend nothing happened?”

She smiled, showing a hint of teeth.

“No, Reid. I think you’ll protect your own secrets. Because if those pictures go public, no one will care whether it was a mistake. They’ll only care that you were in bed with someone who isn’t your Mate. And they’ll care that you lied about it.”

He stared at her for a long, heavy moment. Then he looked away; at the garden walls, the trembling leaves, the trees beside the path.

Anywhere but at Chloe.

When Reid finally spoke again, his voice was deadened. “You get your appearances. That’s it. No statements. No stories. No more drugs. Otherwise you stay the fuck away from me.”

Chloe’s shoulders eased, just barely. “Of course.”

“If you try to push beyond that, I will bury you,” he added, voice quiet but lethal. “And I won’t care what it costs me.”

Chloe nodded like they were finalizing a business deal. “Fair enough. Please doing business with you, Reid.”

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