She had been apprehensive about accepting his offer, but the idea that she could learn to do something she had always wanted to had been too tempting.
Vasili had been kind and patient. He’d made her feel at ease despite her anxiety in the water. It had been hours of him holding her and touching her. Hours of her heart skipping a beat with every one of those touches. And his voice... It had poured over her like silk.
She had revelled in his attention, despite the fact that she knew she should have kept her distance, and had fought hard to listen to his instructions—before he had pulled back so hard all she could compare it to was a rubber band snapping back after being stretched to its limit.
Spending time with her couldn’t have been so abhorrent to him, could it?
Except it could. Her mere existence had been enough for her uncle to toss her away.
Vasili had fled. And she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. Well, apart from the invitation to dinner...
Helia followed the long path until she came to a large deck that extended out onto the sand. Upon it was a single, square table with two chairs, laid with a setting for two. A candle sat in the middle with a dancing flame. And there sat Vasili in a white linen shirt, sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms. His eyes, his hair, seemed so much darker in the muted light.
A dark prince.
No.
A dark king.
She noticed his eyes widen briefly as she stepped into view, but he quickly recovered, moving to pull out her chair, which he helped her onto before joining her at the table.
‘Is something wrong?’ Helia racked her brain, still trying to figure out her mistake in the pool.
Vasili simply shook his head. ‘Nothing.’
She knew that was a lie.
‘You look beautiful.’
‘Th-thank you,’ she stuttered, feeling off balance.
She looked over his shoulder, just able to make out the water. The sounds of lapping waves formed the soundtrack to their dinner.
‘Wine?’ he offered.
‘Yes, please.’
Helia could see he was stiff, despite trying to put on an air of ease, and there was something off about the way he spoke to her.
‘I don’t believe you,’ she said, taking a sip of the fruity wine.
‘About what?’ Vasili was busy pouring himself a glass.
‘When you say nothing is wrong. We’ve only been married two days and already I know something is off. Tell me what I’ve done.’
‘Don’t worry about it, Helia.’
‘How can I not? We’re supposed to be honest with each other, remember?’
Helia thought back to the pool. Everything had been fine and then he’d withdrawn. As if a switch had been flipped. She couldn’t recall doing anything to upset him, which left only her actual presence. She should have refused him in the first place.
‘I remember. And if something was wrong, I would talk to you about it.’ He glanced away from her as something caught his attention. ‘The food is arriving.’
‘Please don’t insult my intelligence.’
She leaned back in her chair and plastered a pleasant smile on her face, thanking the servers as they laid a starter between the two of them. It was a honeymoon dinner meant to be shared between a happy newlywed couple. Not two people awkwardly navigating a marriage of convenience.
Marinated olives, dips and sliced wedges of pitta sat between them. Helia could picture other honeymooning couples feeding each other. A meal to bring couples even closer together. A seduction before returning to their room.
