Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune, #2)

by Chloe Gong

“You know, Oliver”—Celia slapped her hand down, leaning forward—“it is really hard to provoke my temper, but somehow you are incredibly good at it.” The faintest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “I have missed you quite fiercely.”

“Oh my God,” the man said. He wrapped his arms around Alisa tightly, holding her up. “Oh my God, Alisa, you’re so big now.” He was speaking Russian. And his voice sounded… familiar. Slowly, Rosalind turned to the woman. Holy shit. She was seeing ghosts. The woman yanked the square of fabric off her face. “Biǎojiě,” Juliette Cai said, grinning. “Don’t you recognize me anymore?”

“I would have found you anywhere.” He reached forward. Tugged that piece of her hair, then tucked the curl behind her ear. “Across the world and under it. No matter how well you hide. It doesn’t matter where you go. I’ll always find you. Understand?”

“I feel as though you forget that you don’t have to take pain just because you can.”

“No, Orion. I’m trying to tell you that I kept you at a distance because I knew I wouldn’t respond to you like other people did, and I had no business playing with fire. Then somewhere along the way, between our last petty argument and the fifth time you decided to sleep on my shoulder, I fell in love with you, and once I’ve tumbled that deep, I’m trying to understand everything you say no matter which language it’s in.”

“Then I still wish I could remember, because under different circumstances, if you told me you loved me, I would have kissed you.”

“Even if the memories never come back,” he said slowly, “I’m going to love you again. I have decided to warn you in advance.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me sǎozi.” “Yes, at least not until I propose properly,” Orion added from the table, his gaze still scanning the blueprints. Did he just say— Rosalind’s jaw dropped. A beat passed. With no smart retort anywhere to be found, Rosalind could only pivot wordlessly and push out the door, ducking her head into her shoulders to hide her flaming cheeks. Phoebe’s steps clattered after her into the hallway. “Sǎozi, slow down!”

“No need for such force in the household!” Alisa continued from the living room, her tone upbeat. “Take deep breaths! Remember, I love you all!”

I will love you if I please. I will make you my altar, I’ll put you above everything else in this world, I’ll revel in every morsel you are made of. It’s simple—just tell me you don’t feel the same, and I’ll let you go. But I won’t accept anything else. I won’t accept your refusal on the make-believe grounds of our work.”

“I love you,” Orion said in lieu of a reply, in perfect replacement of any straightforward answer. “I love you, I love you, I’m sorry I said so many stupid things. I can’t believe I asked why we couldn’t cross the Suzhou Creek.”

I was so fascinated because I could see the parts of you in her. I’ve loved you this whole time, just split in two.”

“You need to get me more bullets.” “Done.” He kissed her temple, and the sensation overrode everything else that tried to cling to her with heaviness. “I’ll get you the world if you need it.”

“I know too that you would hate it if I got down on one knee, because it would end up in the papers,” he continued. “I’m settling for a compromise. I will refrain from being an attention-seeking menace if you let me be very public. The sky itself says I love you. I have loved you since we weren’t actually married, and I can’t bear another day living in a falsity. Please, Rosalind, put me out of my misery.”