CHAPTER 90 - THEO"Theo," whispered Penelope as they sat back down together at the main tearoom table.
"I really don't know a man named Theo, even though I know a lot of people," muttered Penelope, an avid gossiper.
Harriet furrowed her brows.
"I don't know someone named Theo…" then she stopped talking. "Ah, I think I know someone named Theo."
Harriet's words again made everyone in the room glance at her. Meanwhile, Penelope herself almost jumped at her and shouted cheerfully.
"You're really having an affair?!" Too enthusiastically, she broke the anonymity rule of this place and made Harriet flick her fingers against her temples. "Ouch!"
"I think I know what's going on now," Harriet muttered under her breath. "I guess…"
Penelope cleared her throat and blinked at Harriet.
"So, who is this Theo you know?" she asked.
Harriet smiled calmly.
"He was a handsome blonde man," said Harriet, remembering the man in the painting. Liam's father. Theodore Almandine. She then explained to Penelope in a soft voice, "He was very charismatic and was a good father."
With every sentence Harriet spoke, Penelope's eyes sparkled more. Penelope could hear the keywords in Harriet's sentence, yet couldn't hear the past tense in her words.
"Theo is a charismatic handsome blonde man and a father!" she squealed.
Penelope's brain immediately worked hard. She tried to find everyone in her memory database who had such characteristics. But after a few seconds, with a smoky head, Penelope couldn't find anything.
"Tell me! Tell me who and from which family this Theo are you referring, Madam! I don't know Theo from any noble family. So is Harriet Goldlane having an affair with a commoner?" she said impatiently.
Harriet laughed softly. She felt a little calmer after knowing where the basis of this rumour came from. However, she wanted to know more about the details. Maybe after she discussed this with Liam, things would be clear.
Harriet stood up, ignoring whatever Penelope tried to make her talk. She immediately walked away from the club, while Penelope, who was starting to think hard by herself, immediately called her servant in this club to get information from other sources. All about 'Theo'.
Meanwhile, Harriet came down from the second floor, realizing that the sun had been setting for a long time. On this late evening, Harriet decided to avoid the party floor and took a more quiet path, which was also used by male club members several times to walk to the men's club room.
As she couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and see Liam, Harriet saw a tall man with a blue dragon mask in the corner of her eye. Harriet knew who the man was by his appearance, his mask, and the colour of his hair, but right now, and in this place, she had no obligation to greet him or pay him her respects.
Harriet walked past the man without glancing at him or saying anything, but suddenly, he grabbed her wrist.
"Madam," he called.
Harriet looked up, caught the black eyes behind the blue dragon mask, and glared at him.
"Sire," Harriet replied in a neutral voice.
The man behind the blue dragon mask, Ezekiel, pushed Harriet from the middle of the hallway and hid her in a corner where no one could see. After successfully forcing Harriet who was trying to remain calm to follow his movements, Ezekiel also trapped Harriet there, in the corner of the hall.
Harriet complied because she wanted to know what this man wanted. Especially, after spreading rumours about her.
"I'm sure you already know everything," said Ezekiel.
Harriet didn't respond, while her eyes stared straight at Ezekiel who was taller than her. "I don't understand what you mean, Sire."
"Harriet Goldlane," Ezekiel said her name, lowering his face so they were so close together, face to face. "Let's make a deal," said Ezekiel.
A deal?
The perpetrator of her defamation offered her a deal?
Harriet furrowed her brows behind her one-eyed mask, and her shaded eyes narrowed even more. Why would a man who spread rumors about her affair by taking advantage of baseless speculations and obscured evidence is asking her to make a deal?
"Don't you want power?" the man asked.
Harriet couldn't understand why this man kept seeing her as a power-hungry woman–why did he keep looking down on her and spreading rumors about her? Was he so obsessed with destroying her name?
"Euclase, and now Almandine. But you still keep your heart for someone else. Are you never satisfied?" asked Ezekiel again.
"I told you, I don't understand what you're talking about!" Harriet had heard enough of all his rambling now. She then understood that Ezekiel drew her here to mock her and accuse her unfairly.
"If you're not satisfied," Ezekiel grabbed Harriet's hand and pinched her chin with his other hand. "I'll give you what you want."
Ezekiel felt his heart pounding with passion. The lavender scent from Harriet's body tickled his consciousness. When he saw the woman in the hallway, accidentally running into him, he lost his mind.
Now Ezekiel understood.
He understood why he hated and was attracted to Harriet very much at the same time. He understood why every gentle expression Harriet gave him and every bright and lively expression she gave another man made him so jealous. He understood why Harriet Goldlane was so seductive in his eyes–
It was because Ezekiel felt that Harriet and he were indeed the same kind of person. In matters of heart and ambition, Ezekiel felt that Harriet shared his views.
By making Harriet aware that her secret could be exposed at any moment, Ezekiel wanted Harriet to accept it. Ezekiel wanted Harriet to admit that she was having relationships with more than one man.
And if she had accepted and acknowledged that fact, Ezekiel could be one of Harriet's men, just as Harriet could be Ezekiel's too.
"If you want to become Empress, then I can also grant that to you," Ezekiel said softly in Harriet's ear.
In an instant, Harriet paled. She didn't understand and couldn't fathom what this man was saying.
"You have allowed yourself to be touched by two men at once. Even if you add one more, what's the harm?" asked Ezekiel.
Harriet's hands were shaking and clenched tightly. What nonsense did this man just say? Was this some kind of new humiliation tactic?
"After that man dies, and after you become a Duchess, I can grant you the throne you have been seeking for so long. If you marry me after that man dies, you don't have to be content with just being a Duchess–"
SLAP!