<b>Chapter </b><b>87 </b>


    E


    The diamond ne was admittedly beautiful. It hung delicately from Alexander’s hands, tiny stones catching the light and throwing rainbows across the vault walls.


    But it could never rece Lilith’s locket. Nothing could.


    Still, the gesture itself was touching. Alexander was trying to give me his great–grandmother’s ne in an attempt to make up for what had happened to Lilith’s locket.


    “You don’t have to,” I said quietly. “It’s a family heirloom-”


    “I want to.” Alexander stepped closer and twirled one finger. “Turn around.”


    I did as he asked, lifting my hair out of the way. His fingers were warm against the back of my neck as he sped the ne, and I shivered at the contact. The diamonds settled against my corbone, heavier than Lilith’s delicate silver chain had been but just as warm.


    “There.” Alexander’s hands rested on my shoulders for a moment, warm and broad, before he took a step back. “Perfect.”


    I turned back to face him, one hand automatically going to the ne. “It’s gorgeous. But Alexander, I can’t help but wonder… are there string attached?”


    He frowned. “What do you mean?”


    “I mean, are you expecting me to wear this to the banquet? To show it off like some kind of token of your…” I bit my lower lip as i struggled to find the right words. “Your fake affection?”


    “E, no.” Alexander stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “I’m not giving this to you for political reasons. I’m giving it to you because you lost something important today, and I wanted to give you something beautiful to take its ce.”


    The sincerity in his green eyes made my breath lodge in my throat. “You mean that?”


    “I do.”


    One thrum down the bond was all it took. One single pulse of promise, like a soft whisper caressing my mind, and I knew he was telling the truth.


    My shoulders deted with a soft sigh, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. I couldn’t seem to find the right words, not when we were surrounded by all of these artifacts and he was looking at me like I was the most valuable thing in the room.


    “I’m sorry about the locket,” he said. “I know how much it meant to you.”


    “It’s not your fault. Gabriel was the one who-”


    “I should have told you what I was nning. If you’d known I wanted to surprise you with it, none of this would have happened.”


    Before I could answer, Alexander’s hand came up to frame my face, and suddenly we were standing so close I could feel the warmth from his body enveloping me like a cocoon. His eyes dropped to my lips, and mine dropped to his. The bond pulsed again, or perhaps that was my traitorous heart ying tricks on me.


    Suddenly, another sharp cramp shot through my lower abdomen. I gasped and doubled over, both hands flying to my stomach.


    “E!” Alexander’s arms were around me instantly, although he hardly touched me, as if he were afraid I might shatter. <b>“</b>What’s <b>wrong</b>?”


    “Just a cramp,” I managed through gritted teeth. “I think the stress from earlier is catching up with me.”


    Alexander’s face went pale. “We need to get you upstairs. You need to rest.”


    <i>1/3 </i>


    Chapter <b>87 </b>


    <b>He </b>helped me out of the vault and up the stairs, one arm wrapped securely around my waist. By the time we reached our bedroom, <b>the </b><b>cramping </b>had mostly subsided, but Alexander insisted on helping me into bed anyway.


    “Should I call Dr. Evelyn?” he asked as leaned back on the pillows.


    I shook my head. “I’m fine now. I think it was just the panic from being trapped in there.” I touched the diamond ne again. “The baby is okay.”


    Alexander didn’t look convinced, but didn’t argue. Before I knew it, I found myself drifting off to sleep. And Alexander stayed with me, his hand rubbing soothing circles across my belly until I nodded off..


    When i woke up a few hourster, Alexander was gone, but there was a ss of water and some crackers on the nightstand beside me. I sat up slowly, relieved when no more cramping followed, and reached for the water.


    My fingers found the diamond ne again as I drank. It just… given it to me with no strings attached.


    That was what confused me most about all of this.


    was beautiful. Delicate but substantial, clearly worth a fortune. And Alexander had


    Alexander could be so sweet and tender at times, treating me like I was his true love. The way he’d looked at me in the vault, the way his hands had lingered on my skin when he’d put the ne on me… it had felt real. Genuine.


    But then there were moments like that night when I’d asked about children, when he’d immediately fallen back on the contract like it was the mos logical thing. Or the way he’d mentioned extending our contract when he’d marked me at the hospital.


    I couldn’t figure out how he really felt about me. Did he care about me as his mate, or was I still just a convenient arrangement to him?


    Sometimes I wished my mother were here. I wished I could ask her for advice.


    Maybe if I’d had that kind of guidance growing up, things would have turned out differently. Maybe I would have known how to recognize lo he saw it, or how to protect my heart from getting broken by someone who might never truly want me.


    But I’d never had that. My mother had died when I was an infant, and then my father and stepmother had treated me like an inconvenience at best, a burden at worst. They’d never cared enough about my happiness to give me advice about anything, let alone something asplicated as marriage.


    To them, I was just a pawn.


    The thought made my chest hurt in a hollow, throbbing sort of way, and I realized I was crying again. Not for the locket this time, but for everything I’d never had. The mother who should have been there, the family who should have supported me, the childhood that should have prepared me for moments like this.


    But then I thought about Lilith, and the ache in my heart softened slightly.


    I did have someone. Lilith had been a mother to me. She’d been the one tofort me when I was sick, to hold me when I cried, to celebrate with me when good things happened.


    And it was Lilith’s precious locket that Gabriel had destroyed. While I was sitting here moping about my own feelings and touching Alexander’s expensive gift, she was probably downstairs missing her family heirloom just as much as I was.


    I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and go check on her.


    After quickly changing, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. It waste–past nine o’clock by that point–but I knew she would still be up. Lilith wasn’t there, but I could hear her humming on the back porch.


    I put the kettle on and pulled out her favorite tea blend, along with some of the cookies she’d baked yesterday. By the time I’d arranged everything on a tray, the water was ready.


    “Lilith?” I called out as I pushed open the door with my hip. “I brought tea.”


    She looked up from the knitting project she was working on on the swinging bench, and her face lit up. “How lovely, dear. How are <b>you </b>feeling?<b>” </b>


    <b>“</b><b>I’m </b>better <b>now</b>.” I set the tray down on the small table by the window and reached up to unsp


    Lilith’s eyes widened as she took in the sparkling stones, “E, I couldn’t possibly


    the diamond ne. “I wanted to give <b>you </b>thes


    *Please. Alexander gave it to me, but you’re the one who lost something precious today. You should have it.”


    “Absolutely not.” Lilith shook her head firmly and gently pushed my hands away when I tried to give it to her. “That ne suits you perfectly. Besides, diamonds were never really my style anyway.”


    “But your locket-”


    “E<b>, </b>darling, the ne itself was never what mattered most to me.” Lilith set aside her knitting and cupped my face, thumbs smoothing over <b>my </b>cheekbones. “What mattered was that it made you happy when you needed it the most, even if only for a little while.”


    I felt the familiar sensation of hot tears pricking at the backs of my eyes again. “I’m so sorry it’s gone.”


    “I am too. But we still have each other, don’t we?” Lilith smiled and gestured to the tea tray. “Now put that beautiful ne back on and pour us some


    tea.”


    I fastened the ne around my neck and poured the tea, sitting down on the bench next to Lilith. She handed me a cookie andunched into a story about the nket she was going to knit for the baby, and soon we wereughing, feet swinging as the bench swayed back and forth.


    And for a little while, that was all that mattered–the two of us together, enjoying each other’spany.


    Diamonds and lockets could neverpare.


    AD