There's a woman attached to Cato's arm, and she wasn't there last week.

Is she a new development? An old flame? It's clear that she suits Cato better than I ever will. Judging by her subdued glamourous appearance, she checks all the boxes that a man will ever have for a woman, physically. Besides, the media will go ballistic at the sight of Cato dating her.

"Annie," I hiss as I catch sight of her in a nearby corridor.

She giggles as she sees me. "Can you believe it? Cato's back! I think he's gotten dreamier than last week."

"Who is she?"

Annie leans in. Secretly, I know she's a gossip, which I am using to my benefit. "Cato's fiancé, Gemma."

"Fiancé?"

My heartbeat drops to a halt.

Fiancé.

He came back home to announce his engagement to his fiancé.

Cato and I have only spoken once since his return—twice if you count the curses that left Cato's lips after I spilt soup on him. Yet, that one encounter between us speaks of a connection deeper than a friendship. There's still an attraction, a beckoning of our past that binds us.

He had to be playing me that night, to lure me in so I can ease his midnight woes. At least, nothing incredibly drastic happened between us.

"I know! It shocked me too. Gosh, why can't I get a taste of him?" Annie whines a little before recomposing herself. "Apparently she's the daughter of... oh what's his name... Frank Patton? He does a lot of business with Audwin, I think."

"Patton..." I've heard that name before.

The Patton family owns about half of the real estate in New Aberdeen. Their large sum of land equals out to large sums of money. Any corporation or business is desperate for an affiliation with the Patton's, and they make a killing off of anyone who uses their land. Like Annie said, the Patton's work quite closely with the Leveque's as if they formed on giant business alliance. Everyone in New Aberdeen knows not to mess with their empire.

Annie rolls her eyes. "That girl has way too much money, but have you seen her nails? They're like claws. How the hell does she get anything done?"

"She's not a servant," I grumble. Like us.

"Bet Cato likes those tiger nails."

The last thing I need to do is think about Gemma Patton's nails and Cato, but the news of his engagement almost feels like he just punched me in the gut. All those things he said to me in my bedroom were lies to lead me on, weren't they? Did he really miss me?

I don't think I can face him again today.

"Hey, can you do me a favour?" I ask. "Can you refill these cups and bring them back to the parlour? It's for Cato." And Gemma. Even her name makes me nauseous.

Annie's eyes light up. "You mean it?"

"Yeah," I hand her the cups. "I know how much you like him."

Annie squeals and wraps her arms around me. "Gosh, Maureen! This is why you're everyone's favourite!"

"Can you please stop saying that?"

"It's not a lie," she giggles and winks. "I'll keep saying it as long as it stays true."

I let Annie go and tend to the Leveque's in the parlour while I rush up to my bedroom. I close the door behind me, locking it so nobody can enter inside. Well, almost nobody. There's one person who can get in with a certain key I gave him years ago. I may have told him to throw it away, but would he even come here? He has Gemma now.

Gemma. His fiancé.

Am I a fool to think I could ever compare?

Cato's only been back for two weeks, and he already has another woman on his arm. Were they engaged when he snuck in here? Why'd he lay in my bed when he should've gone back to his fiancé? This can't be some woman he just met, because even I know Cato's not that ill-advised. No, this is a relationship he started before he returned to New Aberdeen.

And I doubt I will ever fit into that picture he's painting for himself.

Now, my new job requires that I get close to him. Can I even seduce an engaged man? I never thought that would be a question I would have to ask myself.

There's a knocking on the door. "Maureen?"

My heart sinks. It's Evelyn.

"Open up the door."

I do, and I face the woman of the house. Evelyn sighs as she pushes past me into my room, shaking her head furiously.

"You didn't return," Evelyn mutters, her voice distant. "You sent Annie."

"Yeah, um, Annie really likes serving Cato, and there's that whole soup ordeal—"

Evelyn raises her hand to silence me, then proceeds to fan her reddened cheeks. Clearly, she didn't come here to scold me about letting Annie bring back the coffee. When I saw Evelyn in the parlour with Cato and that woman, she looked ten years younger from the excitement, but perhaps not?

When I look at her now, I fear that was all a charade. Evelyn paces, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

"Evelyn," I take a step towards her, keeping my voice gentle. "Is everything okay? If there's something you need, I can—"

"He chose her," Evelyn's whisper cracks, her emotion waiting at the edge of her voice. "My perfect baby boy chose this... this... mess! She was drunk this afternoon, Maureen! You think you'd want to meet your fiancé's mother sober!" A tear dribbles down her cheek as I wrap my arms around her. She sobs into my shoulder. "She's not worthy of him!"

Oh. This is a new development in today's breaking news: Gemma, Cato's fiancé, isn't good enough for him.

"Have you talked to Audwin about it?" I ask

"He adores the idea of them," Evelyn spits. "My goddamn husband only cares what's best for his business. Their engagement gives him a chance to work closely with the Patton's so he can strike a deal for some more fucking land. That's what he cares about. Not his son."

"But in the end, it can't be about a business deal. It's a wedding," I wince as I ask the next question. "Does Cato love her?"

Evelyn swallows nervously. "I hope not."

I hope not as well.

I hand Evelyn a tissue to calm her tears, but the thought of Cato's strange engagement becomes the elephant in the room. Evelyn knows that Cato has a soft spot for me, but there's nothing I can do with it. Well, Thomas would tell me otherwise. Instead of a seductress, I'm only two steps away from being a homewrecker. If Gemma ever finds out about what I'm going to do to Cato, with Cato, I'll never be able to walk the streets of New Aberdeen again.

That is, if I'm able to seduce Cato and get the information Thomas desires. If the attraction between Cato and I is faded, then all Thomas' plans for me come crumbling down.

"I should really get back to Cato and Gemma," Evelyn sighs as she wipes away her final tear. "After all, she is going to be my daughter-in-law. I should be celebrating, shouldn't I?"

I flash a weak smile. "You'll finally have the daughter you always wanted."

"We both know that Gemma isn't my first choice," she grumbles. "There are so many other women out there that would be right for him."

"Maybe you need to stay optimistic," I hate every word that leaves my lips, because even I don't want to look on the bright side of this marriage. "You've hardly met her. She might have a reason for meeting you this way."

"And what reason would that be? She's drunk."

I keep my mouth shut. There's nothing else to say, and there's no use justifying a woman that neither of us approve of.

Evelyn makes her way to the exit, but stops before she opens the door. "Can you deal with the linens this evening and hang them to dry on the line outside overnight? I'll have someone fetch them in the morning."

I nod my head. "Yes, madame."

"You seem like you could use some fresh air."

With those words, Evelyn Leveque leaves to go and educate herself on the life of her soon to be daughter-in-law. A part of me wondered if that could've been me. Evelyn sees me as a daughter, and Cato and I laid next to each other more nights than none. Although, those nights were chaste and amicable.

Unlike my thoughts about him now.

Maybe Evelyn's right. I need some fresh air.

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DRAMA IS IN THE AIR <3

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Updated August 8, 2022.