Chapter 129. The Tables Have Turned

ARDEN

The inauguration was over before I realized how much my cheeks hurt from smiling.

Everywhere I turned, people were shaking Cade’s hand, offering congratulations, telling him how they’d always believed he would win. I stood beside him, a little dazzled and still overwhelmed.

I was mid-step toward him when someone new broke through the crowd.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with a strong aura that could silence a room.

And handsome.

Like… dangerously handsome. The kind of handsome that makes you blink twice and wonder if you’d just imagined him. Daddy handsome. Not my type, of course. Cade was still the most handsome in my eyes.

Cade noticed him too. He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised.

The man smiled warmly at me before his gaze shifted to Cade. “Congratulations, Praetor,” he said in a smooth, deep voice that carried just enough authority to demand attention without trying. Then his eyes came back to me. “I’m Abel Trevane.”

My brow