Free Web NovelChapter 49: The Vulture And The Man Who Wouldn’t Die
ADRIEN’S POV
I watch Leon leave with Orion the same way people watch condemned criminals being led to the guillotine.
"Come on, cousin," Orion says brightly, practically dragging the poor bastard to his feet. "You clearly require a proper medical evaluation."
"I don’t require anything," Leon responds weakly.
"Nonsense. We are family, and family should support each other during difficult urinary emergencies." Orion tuts self-righteously.
"I don’t have any urinary— "
"You keep saying that," he leans forward, "which only makes me more suspicious."
Leon visually wilts. As he deserves. The bloody thing deserves to be stuck with Orion as a family member for his entire lifetime.
Orion pauses beside me, resting a hand on my shoulder. His fingers squeeze once. "Behave while I’m gone, duckling."
I stare up at him in confusion. "Why are you looking at me? She’s the vulture."
Louise’s smile becomes brittle. It’s much easier to get to her now.
"I know," he laughs cheerfully. "That’s why I’m worried."
Then he leaves with a— wait, is Leon supposed to be scared of Orion?— weird-looking Leon in tow. And just like that, I’m alone with Louise.
Wonderful.
For several seconds, neither of us speaks. The silence stretches between us, sharp and unpleasant. Louise watches me silently as I take another bite of my pasta.
I ignore her while she continues watching me.
Apparently, it’s now a trend for people to stare at others until they become uncomfortable. Unfortunately for her, I’m never going to let a vulture get to me.
"So," she says eventually, voice smooth like polished glass, "this is the best he could come up with to replace me?"
I don’t look up from my plate. "What an interesting thing to say. You see, I was just thinking the same thing too." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
I lift my head and smile, taking note of her eyes narrowing. "I suppose Orion really does enjoy collecting strays."
The insult lands like a brick thrown at a glass house. I see it in the way her hand curls into the hem of her sleeves. Good.
"Still I get him now. I can understand why he got bored." I add, smiling pleasantly.
"Excuse me?" It’s less like a question and more like a venomous hiss.
I gesture vaguely between us. "You lost your fiancé to me, after all."
Louise goes still. The hatred in her eyes deepens. It’s damn impressive to see. I wonder if vultures naturally possess such excellent vision or whether years of circling dying people sharpen it.
"He wasn’t yours to take," she says quietly, mindful of raising her voice because of her manners.
Of course, he wasn’t mine to take. I didn’t even take the bastard. He just wouldn’t fuck off.
"You’re sure he wasn’t mine?" I ask, blinking at her innocently.
Louise scoffs. "I forgot you might not be educated enough to understand, so let me break it down for you. He was my boyfriend, not yours."
Is she taking a dig at my lack of college experience? Oh, it’s on.
I hum. "That’s a bit strange, don’t you think? Because from where I’m sitting, he seems remarkably uninterested in returning to you."
For a moment, I thought she’d throw a plate at me. A shame she didn’t. It would’ve made the evening considerably more entertaining, because I would’ve thrown one back.
Instead, she smiles, and it’s so terrible to look at, I refuse to describe it. "You really believe you’ve won, don’t you?"
"I won’t call it winning." I shrug. "It’s not like I wanted your burr of a boyfriend anyway. It’s more like an unplanned theft."
"So, you admit to being a thief?"
"I’ve stolen many things in my life." My gaze slides meaningfully towards her. "But taking your man wasn’t particularly difficult."
"I didn’t even need to lift a finger."
Her expression cracks. It lasts just for a second, but it’s as obvious to me as a scratch on porcelain.
"I didn’t steal him from you, my dear, misguided vulture," I say softly, "you lost him all by yourself."
The words hit exactly where I intend them to, because Louise knows. She knows better than anyone that she is the one who broke off their relationship, it wasn’t the other way round.
Though, it doesn’t change the fact that she might have never really had him to begin with.
"You always did enjoy taking things that didn’t belong to you," she says bitterly.
Something cold settles in my stomach, and it’s not the chocolate ice cream I’ve been eyeing for dessert. Her statement feels oddly deliberate.
"I learnt from watching your family. Theft seems to come easy to you vultures."
Louise laughs. "Please. We only take what belongs to us."
"Of course." I lean back in my chair. "Vultures are known to be very territorial about corpses, but tell me Louise, when did vultures evolve to start eating the living?"
Her eyes flash. "You should be careful with your words, maggot."
"Why? Afraid I’ll start eating living people too?"
"No," she tilts her head, "I’m afraid you’ll forget your place."
I smile. "Such worry coming from a thing who never knew her place warms my heart. You really know how to make me happy, vulture."
She studies me silently for a moment, then she asks. "Have you slept with him?"
I nearly choke on my water. I lower my glass slowly. "Please tell me how that is any of your business? Or is scavenging for information part of your skill sets too?"
"You’re avoiding the question."
"Congratulations Sherlock, you’ve figured me out." I clap mockingly. "Why don’t you stick to asking questions that actually concern you?"
Louise leans back. "I’ll take that as a no."
I don’t answer, mostly because I don’t know what answer to give. Orion propositioned me less than forty minutes ago and I still haven’t recovered.
"Why the hell are you interested in my sex life, vulture?"
"Who says I’m interested in your sex life?" She wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Don’t get too ahead of yourself now, maggot."
So, she’s interested in Orion’s. "Is this the part where the ex-girlfriend warns me that I’ll never be able to arch my back as well as she does?"
"No," Louise’s smile widens. "This is the part where I tell you that after Orion eventually sleeps with you, I’ll make sure he learns what you used to do after you ran away."
Everything inside me stops completely. I stare at her, she stares back. My brain goes into overdrive.
No! No! No—
"Don’t look so shocked," she says softly.
My mouth goes dry. "How— "
I stop myself just in time from asking the wrong question. The real question isn’t how, it’s how much— how much she knows, how deep she dug, how many people she actually talked to.
My hands suddenly feel cold. The vicious satisfaction on her face makes me want to claw her eyes out. I’ll kill this bitch.
"He deserves to know," she says again in that same disgustingly soft tone.
I force myself to speak. "What exactly do you think you know, vulture?"
"Oh, I know enough, dear maggot."
Fear crawls up my spine. Because people like Louise don’t bluff, they investigate and destroy. She’s a bitch who feeds on other people’s problems.
I think of all the things I did to survive. The things I buried. The things I swore nobody would ever learn. If she knows about that...what else does she know?
I look at her, really look at her. And suddenly, I am furious. Furious enough that the fear recedes.
Furious enough that the cold numbing my fingers starts to burn.
"You know," I say quietly, "I’ve always wondered something."
She arches an eyebrow. "What?"
"Do vultures recognize each other by scent or taste?"
Her expression hardens.
I continue speaking, allowing the hate I feel to bleed into my voice. "You and your mother are fascinating creatures."
"Be careful with your— "
"No, really," I smile. "I’ve never met people with such low self-respect."
Louise’s eyes become glacial. It’s like staring into two frozen emerald lakes.
"You feed on people. That’s what your family does." I lean forward. "You circle anyone useful, strip them to the bone, then move on when there’s nothing left."
"You’re making a mistake, maggot. You should watch your words." Pure rage burns in her eyes.
"No, I don’t think so." I shake my head. "That’s why none of your relationships ever survive and you have no friends. You eat from them until either there’s nothing left, or they get rid of you themselves."
For the first time this evening, Louise’s features match the rage in her eyes. She’s genuinely angry. Good. She should be angry.
I hope it burns.
"Why don’t you come to my engagement party and see just how alone I am, maggot?" She sneers, tone dripping with venom.
"Oh, vulture," I sneer, matching her venom with mine. "If I’m not at your joke of an engagement party, then I’ve been flayed and buried to rot."
"And we both know that I don’t fall easily."
******
At this point, it’s should be considered sensible to not get into a contest with Adrien on who can spit more venom.
— TheLovePoet
