(AMARI'S POV)
The moment the words left my lips, I wanted to take them back.
But I couldn't.
I could get in trouble with Talon. This could ruin everything. But lying about having a wolf almost got me killed once…
"Being without a wolf is not an excuse," Kaelen casually replied. He picked up his fork. "I know someone without a wolf who eats two times more than I do."
That was interesting, but I just told him, a powerful Alpha, that 'his strange unknown wife' is a sludge, yet he seemed more interested in his bacon than my confession.
"You must be annoyed that you have to remind me of these things" he said, dabbing the corners of his mouth gently.
Amari!! You're doing horribly!!
"It's okay." Luckily, my voice was steady.
"I wish," he said, picking up his cutlery again. "It feels like I missed my own wedding."
He went back to eating while my blood ran cold. I reached for a glass of water.
"Seeing as I spent my last days with you, you don't mind helping me jog my memory, do you?" He didn't even glance up.
"I don't."
What else could I say?
"When was the last time you saw me, before the accident?" He asked, sticking a fork in his mouth.
I swallowed a lump in my throat.
"Two nights ago."
He raised an eyebrow at me. "On our wedding night. And? Where were we?"
The air around the table suddenly felt too small.
"We were on our way to our honeymoon. You got an urgent call and you had to leave."
My hands gripped each other tightly as I suppressed the disgust at the surging memory.
Talon and I at the backseat, him pressing kisses to my hand and explaining that he was not trying to rush me but consummation on our wedding night was necessary.
If not for that phone call he received, we would have—
"Disappointing." Kaelen's voice sliced my thoughts.
I released my fists and smoothed my palms on my lap.
"You can say that," I said, unable to suppress the dry, darkly humorous laughter that escaped my lips briefly.
I have been looked down on so much, I never realized it could be worse. I could be a pawn in a deadly game.
"Did we really fall in love, Amari, or did I pay you to tell everyone that?"
Absolute silence.
Not only was his question sudden, his tone was. Deeper. Darker. But his face was blank.
My throat went dry instantly, and my thoughts scrambled about helplessly.
"Why would you say that?" My voice sounded hurt enough. "Because I'm poor?"
I could see my own chest rising and falling while his unwavering focus pinned me to the spot.
Then he continued with his food, like he had not just held me hostage. "No, not because you're poor." He cleared his throat. "Did we have a ceremony?"
I adjusted my veil. His glance followed.
"We had a small reception after court." I said through gritted teeth.
No break. "How many guests?"
"Four. Me and you made it six."
The surprise was inevitable. "Why so small?"
That monster Talon didn't even prepare me for any of this!
I shrugged. "You had no family."
Pause. Then, "I also said I was a truck driver," he added. "Is that why you're so scared of me? Why you don't trust me?"
His gaze sharpened, like he was testing the weight of his own words.
Another moment of suffocating silence.
"I'm not scared of you," I lied, breaking the silence.
His lips tugged into a quick smirk.
"But you don't trust me." He leaned forward, and a strong whiff of his amber cologne seized a shaky exhale from me.
"I don't," I agreed.
"Is that why you aren't eating?" He nodded at my untouched plate.
"I'm not hungry."
I was hungry. But my appetite was gone. No way I could eat or drink in front of this man. Not even with the way he was looking at me.
My fingers wrapped around the edges of my veil idly, and his eyes narrowed at the movement.
"Why do you cover your hair?"
My mouth parted open.
Can this get any worse? I'm self-aware as it is, now I feel like he is looking at me under a microscope. Even psycho Talon never asked about my veil.
"Is it your culture?" His eyes trailed my veil.
I was tempted to say yes. Just so he would end the topic.
"No. It's a personal choice." I kept my chin up.
"Your style then." His lips curved slightly for a few seconds, and I felt a jolt right in my chest.
"So, you never take it off?" He asked.
For the sake of the goddess.
"Well, I—"
A loud ringing sliced the tension, and I jumped a little. It was the first time I was noticing the big phone on the table.
Kaelen's forehead creased as he stared at the screen. He pushed his chair back immediately and rose to his feet.
In seconds, he had wiped his mouth gently, slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Make sure she doesn't leave here without eating." He was speaking to someone behind me.
I turned around in time to see Vlad nod sharply.
Then Kaelen's eyes returned to me.
Like each time our eyes met, my pulse skyrocketed and I felt breathless, seized, while he just kept drinking me in.
"We'll finish this later. Next time there won't be interruptions." He spoke softly with an undertone of sternness.
Then he was gone.
I turned back to the table. His plate was almost empty, unlike mine.
I still lacked appetite. I was supposed to feel free, relieved since he left, but his absence weighed down on me, an accompaniment to my constant anxiety.
I cast a quick glance behind me.
Vlad's empty gaze stared back.
I picked up a pastry and started to nibble, wondering if Kaelen's departure was my ruin or my salvation.