Chapter 423
Chapter 423:
“Asher!” The crack in Colton’s voice echoed down the empty street — raw, unguarded, nothing like him. “Just tell me where she is. I’ll give you anything. Name it — whatever you want p>
Asher’s mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Do you know what I want p>
The look on Colton’s face turned lethal. His fingers twisted deeper into the fabric of Asher’s collar, the tendons in his forearm standing out under the skin. “Don’t,” he said through clenched teeth. “Get that idea out of your head right now p>
“You of all people know it doesn’t work that way,” Asher said, his voice perfectly level. “Once something takes root, you can’t simply decide to pull it out. If you could, you would have let Kristine go years ago p>
Colton’s grip loosened — just fractionally, but enough.
Asher straightened his collar with unhurried hands. A last, thin smile. “Actually, I suppose I should be thanking you.” He turned to the front. “Tripp. Let’s go p>
𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖽𝖺𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝗇
The car pulled away in a clean, quiet arc and disappeared down the street.
Colton stood alone in the road, motionless as a post. He watched the Bentley until it was gone, until there was nothing left to watch — and then he simply stood there, in the silence, feeling the full extent of how helpless he was.
A moment passed. Something in his expression shifted back into resolve.
Kristine would come back to him eventually. She always had.
He kept telling himself that, and kept waiting for it to feel true.
The following evening at seven o’clock, Alma arrived exactly when she had promised.
Kristine wasn’t taking any chances. She had put on a mask and a hat that together concealed everything but her eyes.
Alma took one look at her and burst out laughing. “You look like you’re about to rob the place p>
“I’d rather be overprepared than caught off guard somewhere I don’t know,” Kristine said, her voice muffled slightly behind the mask.
Alma shrugged and let it go.
She had already looked into the situation between Kristine and Colton in more detail since their last conversation. She knew Elyse would be at the event tonight. She had originally thought the disguise was excessive — Asher had already arranged security — but the moment they arrived and she stepped out of the car, she changed her mind entirely.
Kristine had been right to be careful.
The venue was surrounded by students holding banners and signs, all of them there to welcome the delegation from Rymonst. Since Elyse was its official representative, the crowd’s attention was entirely on her. What the students here didn’t know — couldn’t know, given the difference in information access between countries — was that Elyse had taken a position that rightfully belonged to Kristine. She had also hired a string of local influencers to craft an image for herself abroad, presenting herself as a cultural ambassador of genuine standing. The campaign had worked. She had built a following here quickly, and many of those fans were in the crowd right now.