Should've Been Mine (Laurens x Angelica) {COMPLETE}

Chasing Rumours

(Angelica Schuyler POV)

Laurens' green eyes widened, like expanding emeralds. I was almost happy to have caused him some emotion.

"I WASN'T IN LOVE WITH HIM!" Laurens objected quickly, his voice hitting a high-note in surprise.

I grinned. Was he going to deny it? If he wasn't going to tell me that much, I was certainly not going to admit I was in love with my sister's husband. "I have nothing against you, dear sir."

Laurens shook his head and quickly got out of the carriage. We had parked outside the mansion. The thick moonlight hung in the air, a thick layer of sorrow webbing over the night sky, connecting the dots of the stars. 

I reached for his hand and used him to pull myself out of the carriage. Our eyes caught, and we held each other's gazes for a second too long.

"I want to know if it's a rumor or not." 

"No... You're Angelica Schuyler," Laurens stuttered out. "I'm not going to tell you, and," he turned away, rubbing his hands. "It's a rumor!"

"The gentlemen doth protest," I said. Laurens was acting quite adorable, and, well if he was in love with Alex, why would I care? It isn't my job to judge. Love is love, anyway. 

"But-- but, you wouldn't get it," he sighed, and started trying to get inside the house. I opened the door for him, looking back at him for a second.

"You can tell me the truth. I won't tell a soul and I do get it," I said, smirking as I leaned against the wall. 

"You will-- and the gossip is just too insidious to let it slide." Laurens shook his head and walked inside. He looked back at me, rubbing his cheek like he had been slapped there before.

"But- what? Don't you trust me?" I begged, following him into the kitchen. "I am quite trustable." Not as much as Eliza, but close enough.

"You are the scariest lady in New York."

Oh, that again. "I promise I won't." He started to walk outside, but I grabbed his hand again. I could just feel our hands both run with energy-- it was so nerve-wracking to hold hands, even for a second. 

He looked back at me, and for just a second, he let me inside his eyes and I could see the sorrow. Alex was his best friend and his lover and now---, oh now he was gone.

"You loved him," I said, now sure I addressing the use and not a rumor.