Racing at breakneck speed with the wind blowing through her hair, Ilene was traveling all the way to Wisteria Dukedom with Damien, after bidding farewell to her place and her only family. As a noble lady, she should have been traveling on a carriage, but she would enjoy long ride with Damien more.
As much as Ilene enjoyed the ride, her eyes also enjoyed capturing the green luxuries around her, bursting with life. She loved her place, with its crowded capital, small villages with high streets, verdant lawns and placid lakes.
"Hello, Miss Valkyrie." A familiar masculine voice popped up, not so far from her. The deep drawl sent every hair on the back of her neck on end.
Three words. That was all it took to skyrocket her blood pressure.
Her fingers tightened around the reins before she forced them to relax. Ilene would not want to give him the satisfaction of provoking any indiscernible reaction from her.
With that in mind, she took a deep breath, rearranged her features into neutral expression, and slowly turned to her right only to be greeted by the familiar metallic-silver irises.
The same pair of eyes she hadn't forgotten since last night.
"Greetings, Mr Calbourne." Ilene cooed, a bright smile gracing her lips.
"Traveling alone?" Alexavier shifted his attention to the empty seat behind her.
"Following me?" Ilene arched her brows. With the luxurious carriage he was on, it seemed like he was too traveling, but she didn't care.
Instead of recoiling, he laughed, "I wish I could do so but unfortunately; we happen to travel the same path." His mouth curved into a smirk, revealing a tiny dimple in his left cheek.
Ilene held back a snarl. She hated that dimple which he used to charm, and lure women on his trap.
And how did she forget that he was from Wisteria Dukedom? Infact, he was the one who owned that place.
"Mr Calbourne, as we happen to cross each other paths, I suggest we should part our ways from here." Ilene said coolly, reining in her violent thoughts. "Have a great day!" She marched ahead, but not before catching the flash of disappointment on his face.
"Miss Valkyrie, wait!" His carriage tried to reach the speed that of Damien's. Hopefully, he found her with both of them being opposite to each other once again.
"It's not that easy to run from me, Miss Valkyrie." Alexavier leaned against the carriage's window and propped his forearm on the windowsill, revealing the hideous smirk he had tugged across his lips.
"It's not that easy to chase me either, Mr Calbourne." Ilene too lifted her chin in defiance, not letting his words prickle her skin.
He stifled a laugh in response. What was she? He scrutinized her from head to toe, as an attempt to understand her. His gaze swept appreciatively from her purple hair to her face before settling on the silver blue pendant against her cleavage.
Her spine turned to iron. His gaze seared into her flesh, hot and mocking. Her heart jolted and stomach swooped for no obvious reason.
His the then smirk disappeared, leaving his expression unreadable.
A charged silence crackled between them before Alexavier spoke again. "Let's play a game."
Tension knotted her shoulder, "Don't you have a better place than this to play your silly game?" Her face resettled into a stern frown.
"Nope." A nefarious smile graced his lips at her long-suffering sigh.
"Slow down! Why are you in such a hurry?" Despite the snark, Alexavier continued staring at her with that indecipherable expression.
"Why shouldn't I be? I don't want to share my time with you." It was a lame retort, but her brain wasn't working properly. Ilene blamed it on the fact that she was traveling to her aunt's place. Or the unexpected encounter with this man.
She pulled the reins fiercely, intent on brushing past him without another word.
"Only because?" Alexavier was quick to catch her.
The heat intensified. God, why is this man too obsessed to obstruct her path again and again?
"Because you are a----"
"Fine. I will start to give you a little faith in me." There was a strange note on his voice.
"Tell me something no one knows about you, and I promise to share mine too." His pose remained casual, but his eyes sharpened into dark knives waiting to carve out her secrets.
"I don't know about mine, but I can definitely tell about yours." Aggravation crept into her voice.
"Care to share?" Alexavier asked, drawing her back to the conversation she didn't want to have.
Ilene flashed a brittle smile, her face now a mask of delight. "You are arrogant, delusional, egoistical and what not--"
Before he could respond, Ilene pushed past him and quickened her ride, she was eager to put as much distance between herself and the Duke as possible.
Only when she hit the chilly air that didn't belong to Valkyrie itself, she realized being on the border of Valkyrie and Wisteria.
Of all the people Ilene could have run into, she had to run into Alexavier Calbourne. Could her day get any worse?