Chapter 47: A Double Date? Maybe, Maybe Not!
ADRIEN’S POV
I spend the next several minutes staring at my plate while Orion’s words echo around my skull like a curse that refuses to die.
’Sleep with me, Adrien,’ not ’Would you like to sleep with me?’, or ’Have you considered sleeping with me?’
All he did was utter a simple statement delivered with the same calm curiosity someone might use when asking to borrow a book.
The worst part isn’t that he said it— it’s that he clearly thought about it beforehand.
And I already know that clear-headed Orion never says anything by accident. Every word and action comes from somewhere and leads to somewhere.
Which means that this isn’t some impulsive idea he picked up along the way. He sat down, looked at me, and decided he wanted to have sex with me.
The realization makes me want to launch myself directly into the ocean.
Across the table, Orion appears completely unbothered. In fact, he looks pleased, which makes everything feel a whole lot worse.
I stab my pasta with enough force to qualify as attempted murder while he watches. This fucker is always watching me.
He watches me while I ignore him. I pretend he doesn’t exist, yet he continues watching.
It’s a thing we settle into, right until the doors of the restaurant open. And everything gets even worse.
I notice them only because Orion notices them first. His gaze shifts towards the entrance. It’s a tiny movement, barely noticeable, but I see it. So, I follow his line of sight, only to immediately regret it.
Louise and Leon. Of course.
Because apparently, the universe had decided that tonight wasn’t miserable enough. Like I don’t have to deal with a lunatic already.
Louise looks stunning, like she always does. Dark hair, green eyes like emeralds, and an elegant posture that would put most women to shame.
The kind of beauty that made people forgive things that absolutely shouldn’t be forgiven.
It’s a good thing I unfortunately already know her— as my darling vulture. Her face has absolutely no sisterly effect on me, if I refuse to count disgust.
The moment her eyes land on me, her expression hardens. I can see that comfortingly familiar hatred in her eyes. The kind that feels like that pleasurable itch I get when I’m peeling an old scab.
I don’t hate Louise. I refuse to waste such intense emotions on a scavenger bird. So, instead of glaring at her with hate, I let her see something else in my gaze.
Smugness.
My gaze literally screams, ’I have what you want and now you’ll never have it back’, and from the mounting rage in her eyes, I know she understands me.
Beside her walks Leon.
If Louise manages to look immaculate, Leon looks like death wrapped in expensive clothing. He still looks like an angel. His blond hair is perfectly styled, and his blue eyes somehow manage to keep sparkling.
But beneath those eyes sit dark circles, and his shoulders are tense. Even from across the restaurant, I can see his fingers twitching.
He might soon keel over from stress alone. How interesting.
Apparently, he can’t handle backlash. Good. I need him to suffer more so it kills the sparkle in his eyes. He needs to suffer so much that his hands start shaking, even when he wants to wipe his own ass.
Leon spots us.
I watch for the exact moment he realizes who sits at my table. His face goes pale, while Louise’s tightens, lips drawn downward in as much of a frown as she’ll let show on her face.
Then Orion smiles. Oh fuck.
I know that shitty smile. It’s that smile.
The calm mask he’s worn all evening starts slipping. Not disappearing, but shifting. The change is subtle enough that most people wouldn’t notice.
But I do. Of course I do. My safety depends on which entity wears that face.
His posture relaxes, and the focused stillness vanishes. The corners of his mouth lift as his eyes begin to glitter with that strange energy.
Clear-headed Orion just left the building, now the manic one is back. Damn it.
The transition is always fascinating, yet terrifying to watch. Because despite being the same person, the atmosphere around him changes completely.
The frozen lake shatters, and the hurricane emerges from its depths.
"Oh," he says softly, "we have guests?"
"No we do not, Orion," I give him my best customer service smile. "Those people are here for the restaurant, not us. They are not our guests so please refrain from— "
His grin somehow becomes wider, and before I can stop him, the bastard raises a hand and waves at them. Like an excited child spotting friends.
My blood pressure spikes.
Louise freezes while Leon looks like he wants to fake his own death.
"Come join us!" Orion calls out cheerfully.
I close my eyes. Of course he didn’t listen to me. Of course. Because both he and god clearly hate me, that’s why I have to deal with this bullshit.
A moment later, Louise and Leon approach our table, neither of them looking happy about it, which makes me feel marginally better.
If I’m stressed, then we are all stressed. Except the lunatic.
"Hello, Orion." Louise greets, eyes burning with a hunger that feels almost palpable.
"Louise." His smile never changes. "Leon?"
Leon swallows. "Hello, Orion."
The poor bastard sounds like he’s walking towards his own execution. I wish. Though, considering how salty Orion was the last time I saw the blonde bastard, that might not be an odd thing to feel.
The lunatic has put bullets through people’s skulls for less.
Orion gestures towards the empty chairs at our table.
"Sit," he commands, watching as they both hurry to sit.
The table falls silent. The kind of silence that should be illegal because of how bloody uncomfortable it is. I consider drowning myself in my glass of water.
Then Orion looks between them and laughs. Actually laughs. "It’s wonderful to see you two lovebirds together."
Louise’s eye twitches. Leon stares at the table like it holds the secrets to the universe. I wonder whether I could legally classify this as torture.
"How have you both been?" Orion asks pleasantly.
Pleasantly, my ass. He’s having so much fun, I can’t even see the outline of his pupils anymore.
Neither of them answers immediately, which is answer enough. The inheritance disaster exploded spectacularly.
Even if I don’t know the full story, from what I’ve managed to glean, I can tell that Leon definitely bit off more than he could chew with that one.
And now he’s trapped, because Lady Dimitra wouldn’t allow him and Louise to separate. I wonder what the senior vulture thinks about it?
What they have now is merely an engagement maintained through mutual suffering. How wonderfully romantic it must be for them.
"I’ve been busy," Louise says, finally responding to Orion.
"That’s understandable. I for one know that someone has to keep an eye on my cousin or he’ll never stop causing problems," he replies, eyes sparking with glee.
Leon suddenly turns towards me. "It’s been a while, Adrien. How have you been?"
This angel bastard truly doesn’t rest unless he’s dragging someone else down with him. I hate hearing my name from his lips almost as much as I hate seeing the vulture.
Something must have shown on my face, because Orion notices. His gaze shifts between us, gleaming with dangerous interest.
Leon, probably trying to divert Orion’s attention from his slip-up, dips his hand into his jacket and puts down two white envelopes on the table.
Orion picks his up, smile widening, and so do I.
"It’s an invitation to our engagement party," Leon says quietly.
I stared at him, then Louise, then back at the envelope. These little shits are fucked. Lady Dimitra is going to tie even their intestines together.
This is fucking hilarious.
"We’ll be there," Orion says, pocketing his envelope with a smile so wide, it feels eerie. "We definitely won’t miss the fun for anything."
Orion darling, you’re not supposed to say that out loud. You can think it like I did, but don’t say it. Normal people consider it rude.
Leon shifts, fingers twitching even more. He must be stressed to hell and back to be doing that subconsciously. How wonderful.
I see the moment Orion notices.
"Are you having trouble sleeping?" He asks casually.
"I sleep fine," Leon replies, shoving his hands under the table to hide them.
Orion deliberately lets his gaze linger on his hidden hands. "Then it must be performance issues..."
Louise chokes. I would choke too but my throat is drier than the Sahara.
Leon rises sharply from his seat. "I do not have performance— "
"I was talking about peeing, dear cousin~ " He hums playfully. "What dirty thoughts are you having?"
Leon falters. "I-I..."
Orion waves at him to be silent. "Well, as the older cousin, it’s still my responsibility to make sure you haven’t broken down in any way...yet."
He just said ’yet’, didn’t he?
He continues speaking as if he said nothing out of the ordinary. "So, let’s go pee together! Let’s compare our junk and laugh about yours."
Neither of those things sounds good for Leon.
