Chapter 10 – The Rules

POV: Elena

Camille's warning stayed with me the entire drive home.

Neither Jace nor I mentioned her. The silence inside the SUV felt heavier than usual, broken only by the sound of traffic outside. I spent most of the journey staring out the window and replaying the encounter in my head, trying to figure out whether Camille had been bluffing. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.

Camille hadn't looked surprised by the engagement. Angry, yes. Furious, even. But not surprised. It was as though she had already suspected something was happening and had simply been waiting for confirmation. The thought followed me all the way to the Calloway estate.

By the time we pulled into the driveway, the sun was beginning to set behind the property. The mansion glowed beneath the golden light, looking every bit as impressive as it had on the day I first arrived. Unfortunately, the novelty had worn off weeks ago. These days, all I saw was a beautiful prison.

I climbed out of the SUV and headed toward the front door without waiting for Jace. Unfortunately he followed. "Richard wants to see us after dinner. " I glanced back at Jace. "Why?"

A look crossed his face.

"You know that's a terrible question, right?" I sighed. "So you do know." "I have a pretty good guess." That somehow made me feel worse. The moment we stepped into the living room, I understood exactly what he meant.

My mother was sitting beside Richard on one of the cream-colored sofas. Both of them were smiling. The sight immediately made me suspicious. "There they are," Richard said warmly. Jace stopped walking. "What now?" Richard ignored the irritation in his voice. "We have exciting news." I resisted the urge to groan.

People only ever described something as exciting when it was about to become my problem.

My mother smiled brightly.

"The engagement announcement has been a giant success." Success? The word felt strange considering my personal experience with the engagement had consisted almost entirely of blackmail, panic, and public embarrassment.

Richard picked up a tablet from the coffee table and held it toward us. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Sponsors are pleased, donors are pleased, and several important contacts have already reached out to congratulate us."

The knot in my stomach tightened.

The way he spoke about the engagement made it sound less like a relationship and more like a corporate merger. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed. Jace's expression darkened immediately. "So that's what this is about." Richard sighed. "Don't start."

"I'm serious. You don't care whether we're happy. You care about appearances."

The room fell quiet. My mother's smile faded slightly, while Richard looked increasingly annoyed. For a second, nobody spoke. Then Richard leaned back and folded his arms. "Regardless of your feelings, there are certain expectations now."

I already hated where this conversation was heading. "What kind of expectations?" "The charity gala next week."

Of course.

There was always another gala, another event, another public performance waiting around the corner.

"We expect both of you to attend together," Richard continued. "And between now and then, it would be beneficial if you spent more time together publicly. " I stared at him. Jace stared at him. Even my mother looked slightly uncomfortable. Richard either didn't notice or didn't care.

"The engagement will seem more authentic if people see you together."

There it was again. Authentic. The word everyone kept using when what they really meant was fake. The conversation dragged on for another twenty minutes before Richard finally dismissed us. The moment we stepped into the hallway, I let out a long breath.

"I can't believe this." Jace walked beside me with his hands in his pockets. "You'll have to be more specific." I stopped and turned toward him. "Your father is treating our lives like a marketing campaign. To my surprise, he didn't disagree. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. " Yeah. "

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then he looked back at me. "We need rules," I frowned. "What kind of rules?" "If we're doing this, we need boundaries."

That was probably the most reasonable thing he had said since forcing a ring onto my finger. I folded my arms. "Fine."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Good." "Don't look so pleased." "I'm not." "You absolutely are." The smile widened slightly before disappearing.

For a brief second, he looked younger. Less like the untouchable basketball star everyone worshipped and more like an ordinary college student. The thought was unsettling. "First rule," I said. "Don't touch me without warning." His expression immediately became serious. "Okay."

"Second, don't humiliate me." Something flickered across his face before he nodded. "Fair." "And third, if you lie to me in a way that puts me in danger, we're done." He studied me for several seconds. Then he nodded again.

"Your turn."

Jace leaned against the wall and considered the question. "Stay close to me at public events." I rolled my eyes. "That's your rule?" "People are watching now." Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong. "Fine."

"Second, answer my texts." I stared at him. "You can't be serious." "I'm completely serious." A groan escaped me. Jace ignored it. "And third..."

He paused.

The hesitation was unusual enough to catch my attention. "What?" For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face. "Don't disappear." The words were quiet, but something about them felt different from the others.

For the briefest second, I thought I saw genuine fear behind his usual confidence. Then the expression vanished so quickly I couldn't be certain it had ever been there at all.

And just like that, Jace Calloway became impossible to read again.