The King in Disguise

Chapter 5 – Shattered Masks

The warm light from the ballroom spilt onto the balcony, illuminating Vivienne's figure. Her gown hugged every curve of her body, and her hair gleamed like spun gold, but her eyes were as sharp and piercing as knives.

Marcus handed Ethan a slip of paper, which Ethan's fist clenched more tightly. "What's that?" Vivienne's voice shattered through the night air.

He had been taught for years to bow, to put up with it, to let her contempt wash over him like water off a stone. Not tonight, though.

The balance had changed tonight.

Ethan said calmly, "It's nothing you need to worry yourself with," in a tone that nearly made him uneasy.

Vivienne's mouth twisted. "Really? Since it appears to be something. Additionally, you've been...different lately. Her pricey perfume filled his lungs as she moved closer. " Ethan, where were you last night? Don't tell me lies.

"I told you," he said calmly. "Business."

Her laugh was brittle and mocking. "Business. Can you hear yourself? You have no business. You have nothing. You remain the same, reliant young man who entered my family's home with nothing more than your pathetic devotion.

Marcus moved slightly in the darkness, his body tense, prepared to intervene if Ethan signalled him to. But in the smallest gesture, Ethan raised a hand and said, "Stay back."

This was his run-in. His time.

Ethan stood up straight and met her gaze with his dark eyes. "And yet, Vivienne, I've managed to make you uneasy for someone who has nothing."

For a heartbeat, her smile wavered. Then, reclaiming her mask of superiority, she c****d her head. "Afraid of me? Please. At best, you are a distraction.

Ethan moved in closer, speaking softly enough for her to hear. "So why are you investigating me?"

Vivienne tensed. The words had an impact.

The flash of alarm before it was smothered by arrogance was visible to him in her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said calmly.

Ethan smirked slowly and purposefully, piercing her mask like a knife. "Vivienne, don't try to trick me. You've been a bad liar all your life.

She tried to conceal it by lifting her chin, but her throat worked, swallowing. "I don't like secrets, which is why I might be investigating you. I have a right to know my spouse.

"No," Ethan said quietly, his voice growing deeper. "You are undeserving of anything. Not after the previous three years.

Ethan saw doubt blossom in her eyes for the first time, and her breath caught.

There was a long, electric silence between them. Above it, a struggle for supremacy crackled in the night air, while below it, the city hummed, a restless symphony of life and power.

Vivienne was the first to break. "Ethan, what are you concealing?" Her voice was sharp but laced with curiosity as she whispered. Fear.

Ethan c****d his head, observing her as a hawk would observe its prey. "Don't you want to know?"

She squinted. Thus, it is accurate. Something is being concealed by you.

He permitted a small smile. "Vivienne, everyone conceals something. even you.

She flushed at the words and gripped her champagne glass tighter in rage. "Don't blame me for this. You could never have imagined the life I've given you. luxury. Situation. What have you given me, too? Shame. Weakness. A husband who lurks about his own house like a servant and disappears in the night.

Ethan lost his patience. His voice trailed off to a sharp whisper as he drew closer. "Vivienne, I've given you a chance. You also threw it away.

She gasped. Her confidence faltered for a second. She had never noticed anything in his eyes before, and it frightened her more than she wanted to acknowledge.

"You believe you can frighten me?" In an attempt to recover, she spat. "Without my family, you are nothing."

Ethan's low, menacing laugh coiled like smoke around her spine. Do you think so? Or do you have to believe that?

Vivienne's jaw tensed as she opened her mouth and closed it. She would not allow him to see the tiny bit of doubt that was eating away at her.

Music and laughter erupted inside the ballroom, seemingly mocking the tension outside. However, the atmosphere on the balcony was so tense that Marcus, who was still lurking in the shadows, dared not breathe too loudly.

At last, Vivienne's voice rose as she snapped. "Damn you, answer me! Ethan, who are you?

She hadn't asked in three years. She hadn't bothered to enquire.

She demanded it now.

And even though he had the opportunity to tell her the truth and expose her delusions, Ethan merely leaned in and spoke in a way that made her shudder despite herself.

"Someone you will never be able to control."

He withdrew, his eyes unflinching and piercing.

Vivienne stumbled backward, her poise wavering. The glass shuddered in her grasp. She briefly had the appearance of a woman caught in an unfamiliar storm rather than the Blackwell princess.

"You," she muttered. "You're not the man I believed you to be."

Ethan's mouth clenched. "No, Vivienne. I wasn't. You couldn't see it because you were blind.

Damian stepped into the light as the balcony door creaked once more. Ignorant of the tension choking the air, his smirk was broad and haughty.

Damian drooled and put a possessive arm around Vivienne's waist. "Well, well." "What is this? Is there trouble in paradise?

Vivienne gave a little start, unsure whether to move away or to relax in her lover's company. Ethan didn't recoil.

Rather, he grinned. A knowing smile, sharp. "Only those who can afford it can enter paradise."

Rather, he grinned. A knowing smile, sharp. "Only those who can afford it can enter paradise."

Unaware of the significance of the words, Damian laughed. However, Vivienne did. Her gaze shifted from the paper still clenched in Ethan's fist to his serene face.

The silence came back, thicker now, pressing down like a storm cloud about to blow.

At last, Vivienne growled, "I'll find out what you're hiding one day, Ethan. And I'll ruin whatever pitiful game you're playing when I do.

Ethan's eyes glinted with ice as his smile grew. "Be careful, Vivienne. Certain realities don't only ruin games. They ruin players.

Vivienne Blackwell, the haughty, untouchable Vivienne, felt the ground shift beneath her feet for the first time in three years, and her breath caught once more.