For a long moment, silence hung between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts and unvoiced emotions.
When he spoke, his words were cold and savage. ‘Lies have a way of unraveling, weaving a tangled web that ensnares all they touch. You’re Suri’s sister, you should know.’
A pang of guilt hit her at his words, a reminder of the consequences of her actions. ‘I never wanted to deceive you,’ she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. ‘But circumstances forced my hand, and I had to do it for my twin.’
He regarded her with a penetrating glare, his fury still palpable. ‘You know there’s only one reason I haven’t torn that veil from your head and tossed you out on your ass yet?’
She nodded, touching the mantilla still on her head, her fingers rolling one of its rare pure diamonds between her fingers.
She met his stare with a cool one, hiding the tremors still arcing through her body. ‘I’m well aware,Šar. You have a deal with Tewa. One where you hand these gems in exchange for his unequivocal support in the Syndicate commission. It’s the price I have to pay for saving our family, for to thwart you this time might have meant our deaths. The other key factor as to why I agreed to Shiloh’s mad request.’
‘Your ballsiness does you credit,’ he murmured. ‘But the foundation of our union is built on deceit. I’m not sure if I can handle starting on an exceptionally bad foot like we have. Neither should you. Can you see a future with a man who was meant for another?’
She met his gaze, the gravity of his question settling in the space between them like an unspoken challenge.
‘I may not have been the one intended for this marriage,’ she began, each word chosen with care. ‘However, I’m here now, bound to you by circumstance and duty. Perhaps in time, we can foster mutual respect beyond the constraints of our present predicament?’
He scoffed, his mouth curved in bitter humor. ‘Thefokk? Mutual respect? You’ve got the nerve.’
‘I had the honor of my family at stake,’ she replied.
At this, he tilted his head and nodded, with a begrudging esteem in his eyes. ‘I know the feeling. Your name? Other thanShakhete, your formal moniker.’
The snarl was a demand, revealing a flash of those menacing, gleaming canines.
She jolted, realizing he had no idea of her everyday name.
‘Saba. By tradition, since we are fraternal twins, we go by the same first title, Shakhete, and then our different middle names.’
‘Saba,’ he growled, leaning in. ‘I don’t like being crossed, and I make a sinister enemy.’
She met his gaze without hesitation as his threat hung in the air, despite the dread that coiled in the pit of her stomach. ‘I did not come here to be your foe. I’m not Suri, nor am I Shiloh. I came here to honor the agreement made by our families and to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in.’
His glowing eyes swept hers, searching for any sign of weakness or deceit.
After a moment that stretched into eternity, he reclined back in his seat, a ghost of a bitter smile on his lips. ‘You have spirit, woman,’ he growled. ‘I will admit, your honesty surprises me.’
She met his gaze with defiance, letting him see into her soul.
His eyes narrowed, then he cursed and tore his eyes from her face. ‘Fokkme.’
His words hung in the strained ambiance, his ire reverberating through the room.
Without another word, he surged to his feet and prowled to the door from where he studied her as she rose to his side.
They walked in silence back to the reception, through the moonlit gardens, the night alive with the sounds of nature.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and the distant murmur of a waterfall from the lake beyond.
Just before they stepped into the well-lit wedding pergola, he took her arm and stopped her, his fingers gripping her hard, almost to the edge of causing pain.
‘Saba,’ he rasped. ‘Make no mistake, your family’s deception will also not go unpunished. They will need to pay for your choices today.’
She sighed and met his unrelenting gaze. ‘Please, I beg you, it’s all me.’
‘What of Shiloh?’
‘Her too. But don’t harm her. She made a foolish decision.’
