𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 ▻ 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺 [1]

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩

...

ACTIONS CAN SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, but that doesn't take away the inevitable sting that the words thrown like daggers can bring.

The races, Thomas would say, were a grand success yet at the same time a horrible setback. Where he seemed to seal the deal with Billy Kimber's accountant, he also seemed to push away Elizabeth Alder. Back at the races after he was done discussing business, Thomas turned to see not his golden haired girl waiting for him - but instead the barmaid.

Thomas Shelby isn't one for surprises, this one in particular being rather big. When he was told by the barmaid in red that his golden haired girl instead went off with Billy Kimber, panic flooded his body. The thought of Elizabeth alone in the house of Mr. Kimber brought that unfamiliar feeling of panic that rarely arose within the Shelby man. The rise of the unfamiliar feeling reminds the man just how much being in control is important, and what happens when you're not.

The deal was the barmaid, not her. For Thomas, offering up the barmaid was easy. Business, he called it. Initially the king requested the girl in green but Thomas Shelby sternly and continually refused until the man settled for the girl in red.

Immediately Thomas Shelby drove to the Kimber residence because he admittedly couldn't bare to think of what could conspire between then and when he would arrive. It merely made the man sick just thinking about it.

     Relief would be an underwhelming description of what Thomas felt when he laid eyes on his golden haired girl who seemed decently unharmed.

Now Thomas Shelby finds himself driving beside his golden haired girl who continues to walk along the edge of the very long driveway of the Kimber residence. "Elizabeth", Thomas says for about the hundredth time yet he still gets the same response; no response.

     The feeling of disrespect, betrayal, and anger still pulse through Elizabeth's veins as she continues to storm down the path. How could he? Is what repeats through her head as her focus stays straight.

Whore.

That dreadful word. The word that is thrown as an insult towards women only to belittle them as a person, yet it is what men continue to indulge on despite their words of disgust. Not only does the word sound like nails on a chalk board when other men say it, but it somehow sounds even worse when it comes out of Thomas Shelby's mouth; especially when it's being said to describe herself.

"Ellie", the man's voice says, notably with a subtle stutter of nervousness, and immediately Elizabeth stops dead in her tracks.