Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

The "he" in question was Walter's older brother.

Back then, their falling out was anything but quiet-it got messy, and everyone knew it. But Walter's brother had been powerful, already a big name in North America, so Walter had no choice but to come back to the Capital. Still, he never stopped hoping he'd get a chance to return someday.

He thought he'd lost his shot for good-until Dylan showed up.

Just thinking about the old man made Rai's expression go a bit odd. "The High Elder doesn't see much of anyone these days. He keeps to himself, tinkering away at home, only showing up for the annual meetings. The four of us elders all have our eyes on Dylan, but the High Elder never says much. He just tells us to wait and see what happens."

Wait for what, though? No one really knew.

The High Elder held the most power, while the other four elders were about equal. All four of them backed Dylan; otherwise, Rai wouldn't have given Dylan that signet ring so early.

Rai was here this time to make sure Dylan stopped worrying about things here- to get him to focus on North America and let go.

Richard stood near the entrance, catching snatches of their conversation. Even from a few words, he could tell Dylan probably wasn't doing so well.

He nodded politely and followed the housekeeper inside.

"Walter. Rai."

the incident Richard had caused at the last party, but Richard

you're here

worried." "Colin, you really care about Dylan, don't you? Come sit he'll be down soon." Richard's

Dylan and Richard were in the army together, Walter had always kept his distance

liked them

him, a son as talented as Dylan should be self-reliant. The strong

all

least, though he'd never shown

We as Dylan himself.

the spotlight, rarely made waves, and showed zero

women.

over women more than once, but Richard had always kept his distance-not a single woman ever appeared by

to compare even someone like Walter couldn't help it. His own son had gotten tripped up by romance, while someone else's kid seemed

any woman? You're about the

didn't miss a beat. "I haven't met the right person. And things at

tied to the higher-ups, and Richard himself

had drifted far from politics. He didn't know many of the new faces anymore he