The Fairest of All

The Boxed Heart

Red ribbons were strung from rafter-to-rafter in the grand dining hall. The kitchen was serving heart-shaped buttered crumpets with sweet scented red hibiscus tea as the morning special. Billboards announced the Valentine's Day Gala that would be arriving. Girls giggled in groups talking about which designer dress they'd wear, or who they expected to attend the Gala with.

In the great hall filled with chatter, and busy students moving about, two individuals weren't saying anything at all.

Chloe sat at a table with Dominic seated directly across from her. She was trying to focus on eating her food and not on Dominic, but everywhere she looked she was confronted with hearts and advertisements for embracing love. Even her heart-shaped pancakes were betraying her.

When Chloe did try to sneak a peek at Dominic, his eyes would turn to meet hers. It was almost like he had a sense for knowing when she would look at him.

She would give him a shy smile, and he would give her a small, knowing sort of smirk in return.

Trying to be platonic with Dominic Huntsman after sharing an intimate kiss in the dark with him was hard.

Every glance, action, or breath felt teeming with energy.

She could barely stand the unspoken tension they had created, she had to stop it.

"So," Chloe finally spoke. "How should we handle the situation with Elizabeth and the photo?"

Dominic was much more relaxed than Chloe was. He coolly took a bite of his wheat toast and spoke with casual ease. "I have an anonymous texting service. I was pondering the idea of sending the photo to her phone to scare her with a message saying something of 'we know the truth'. I think I should give her the chance to sort this out with me personally"

Chloe recalled her experiences with Elizabeth, she wasn't exactly a person who could be reasoned with.

"And if she wants to make a deal with you, then what?" She asked.

"The deal will be my silence and giving her the original photo in exchange for her confessing her wrongs to your father and letting you return home," he said.

A sweet sort of tightness formed in Chloe's chest. "You'd really do that for me?"

"All I wanted was proof that I wasn't crazy and that she really was my mother. I have that now. Once she acknowledges me as her son I can finally put this all behind me and get on with my life. If in the process I can save you, why wouldn't I do that?"

All Chloe had wanted since she arrived to Darkwood was to go back home and prove to Henry that she wasn't a liar. She wanted to try and use what little time she had left in her childhood to see if there was any way she could actually develop a relationship with her biological father. She'd been desperate for family and for replacing the love that was taken from her.

Dominic was giving her that opportunity. It made her heart feel overwhelmed.

"Dominic. . . thank—"

A plate of square-cut fruit dropped down loudly in front of Dominic and crushed the mood with a single sound.

The plate was set down by Rose Redd, and if her presence wasn't shocking enough, her uniform was. She wore a cranberry skirt; Rose Redd was an Elite.

Rose had a pretty smile that was accompanied by two pretty dimples. She dropped into a seat that put her technically beside both Chloe and Dominic.

A Money Misfit, Climber and Elite all at one table.

Rose's hair waved in all the right ways and had the perfect red-hue to it. She ran her fingers through the length of her strands. "So, Dominic told me that you met him and Prince in New York before you came to Darkwood. He didn't tell me much else. I really want to know everything about you."