The car was warm and, more importantly, quiet.
A faint hum of the street was the only sound that reached inside. Perhaps that was why expensive cars were valued so highly. The moment the door shut, all that irritating noise of the city was left outside.
I sat there in silence. My driver, thankfully, had never been one for idle chatter.
For a while, it even felt pleasant.
It allowed me to relax a little. Sitting there, I understood how precious that silence was. There were no pointless conversations, no false laughter, no endless meetings and handshakes.
God, those conversations were exhausting.
And the people… those spiteful creatures. Smug, brazen, greedy.
No, spiteful wasn't the right word. That belonged to some wicked stepmother from a children's tale.
These people were vicious, selfish bastards.
Damn it, why the hell had I let my mind wander back to those people? The moment I lingered on it, even for a second, the baroness's voice rose in my head at once. The way she had wrapped her proposal in careful language, trying to make it sound reasonable. Her elegant attempt to isolate an entire group of living beings. All so she wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable in their presence.
Disgusting.
The thought of it made me dizzy and hot.
My head started to ache again, pulsing. Somewhere deep in my chest, I felt something nauseating.
I needed air.
I tapped the back of the driver's seat. "Stop."
"But sir, we can't park here."
"Stop. Now."
The car pulled over. I didn't wait for him to come around and open the door, and I stepped out onto the pavement.
Cold air struck my face, cooling it. The wind was strong, cutting straight through. Under different circumstances, it would have been unbearable, but in that moment, it was exactly what I needed.
The chill ran through me, pushing back the nausea creeping up inside. The only thing on my mind then was how much I wanted to wrap myself tighter in my coat, and that was a relief in itself. It left me with just one thing to focus on - the cold.
I turned toward the driver, who stood there uncertainly.
"You can go," I told him. "Head back. I'll manage from here. I'll take a taxi if needed."
He began to protest, though the look on my face must have settled the matter. In the end, he nodded, climbed back into the car, and drove away.
I stepped onto the pavement and started down the street, not paying much attention to the direction.
I hadn't come out to look at anything or to get anywhere in particular. No, I walked because I needed to cool down. I needed the cold air that could strip away what was left of that wretched evening.
That was my life, really.
An endless parade of events filled with loathsome people, attended for one simple reason: so none of them would place obstacles in my path later. Because each of them, however revolting they might be, carried influence. And that influence could make things difficult if offended.
Yes. That was the game.
I glanced around and realised the street looked familiar.
I was approaching the very spot where I'd once seen that small, shivering figure in a hood and a mask, mumbling something to my guard.
My guard. The one Father had hired.
At the time, the whole scene was rather amusing. Watching him tremble there, shy, barely able to get a sentence out. The way his eyes widened the moment he realised who stood in front of him.
It had been a curious little encounter.
I certainly hadn't expected to meet my bartender there, of all places.
God, the dressing down I'd received from my father afterwards.
I genuinely thought he might disinherit me for leaving the guard behind that day. I had to smooth things over as best I could to make sure the poor guy wasn't dismissed on the spot for agreeing to let me go.
What else was he meant to do? Follow me regardless of my orders?
If he had, I would've fired him myself.
Those weren't easy times.
Still, it was worth it.
Watching my bartender that evening was far more entertaining than any of those cursed social gatherings. The way he tried to keep his distance from me. The way he refused to step too close. The way he flinched whenever the crowd thickened around us.
It'd been delightful.
Small, tense, wrapped in that old hoodie and the mask. He probably believed the outfit made him less noticeable, when in fact the opposite was true. People who tried that hard to disappear drew more attention. A nervous guy, constantly glancing around, shrinking from every passerby. Impossible to miss.
Telling him not to stray from me had been amusing too.
Even then, I understood perfectly well that if anyone recognised us together, the consequences would've been far worse than the trouble I'd earned over abandoning my guard.