Raellyn arrived at her husband’s residence precisely at dinner time the next evening. The journey had passed in a strange, fleeting blur, feeling almost too short, far too swift for the storm that was swirling in her mind as she drove alone with conflicting thoughts. It was as though a violent tempest had taken residence inside her head—merciless, disorienting—but by some miracle, it hadn’t caused an accident on the road.The very first thing she did upon arriving was pick the most flattering evening gown she owned one with a daring neckline that left little to the imagination. She deliberately chose it to flaunt her best features before Arnav. Rona—her personal maid—had done her hair in an intricate Greek goddess braid, insisting that it would emphasize Raellyn’s elegant neckline and project the commanding grace of the lady of the house.Rona’s prediction wasn’t entirely wrong. The moment she sat across from Arnav at the dinner table, Raellyn noticed a subtle flicker in his gaze. It
Raellyn bit her lip gently, her gaze locking onto her uncle’s eyes. The eyes that had once offered her shelter, guidance, and quiet affection, and she was searching for something unspoken right now. When Lita joined them and sat quietly by her side, the air thickened with expectation. Her uncle began to recount every detail of the visit from the lawyer, the conversation, and the papers. And though his voice carried assurance, even each word weighed heavily on her chest. She remained still, lost in the slow storm of her thoughts, eyes wide with something between disbelief and aching clarity. From the way her uncle spoke, from the gentle precision in his explanation, there was only one conclusion left to draw. Arnav had done it. He had fulfilled his promise. He had satisfied whatever unspoken expectations were laid before him.And he had done so… without telling her.The discussion reached its end, but the questions in Raellyn’s heart only multiplied. Her uncle excused himself, leaving
Raellyn never thought she would find herself driving alone to her uncle’s house like this. It was both insane and oddly liberating, something about steering the wheel herself, having no one to tell her where to go or how fast to get there, made her feel a freedom she hadn’t anticipated. But beneath that breath of independence was another reason altogether. The lawyer's unexpected shown up at the house, and Arnav’s refusal to explain a damn thing. That silence itched at her, needled her thoughts like a thorn under skin. She couldn’t stand the waiting so, rather than sitting still and speculating endlessly, Raellyn had chosen to face the truth head-on. If Arnav wouldn’t tell her what was going on, then she’d uncover it herself—starting with her family.The front door swung open before her fingers even touched the knocker.“Oho~ Milady,” Lita drawled, her expression unreadable, her voice laced with the kind of knowing mischief that prickled under Raellyn’s skin. It was clear she’d been e
“Seems like your visiting hours are over. Those documents need more of my attention than this conversation does. So would you mind leaving me alone to tend to business?”The dismissal was clean. Brutal. Delivered with the cold elegance only a man like Arnav could perfect, one who had spent his life fencing emotions behind sharp intellect and colder indifference.But Raellyn didn’t flinch.She had expected this. In fact, she'd rehearsed it in her head this moment when he would retreat behind his fortress of silence. When the man who devoured her soul the night before would vanish, leaving only a stranger in his place.It stung, more than she allowed herself to admit.So this was who he was now. A man who couldn’t even muster a straight answer about the bed they’d shared, who couldn’t face the weight of her words, the tension of her presence. He would rather bury himself in paperwork than acknowledge what had passed between them.Fine.If it was distance he wanted, she would give it.Sh
“So this is the place where you isolate yourself?”There was something dangerously enchanting about the way she spoke, like every word she uttered held the weight of an incantation. It wasn’t just what Raellyn said, but her presence, every movement, even the way she breathed, came wrapped in an invisible charm that dulled the trigger of his anger. Odd, considering Arnav was never the kind of man known for his generosity, much less forgiveness. How she said it. Soft, measured, too deliberate for someone so young. Her voice didn’t stab. It seduced, lulled, cloaked itself in honey, disarming the very man who had once mastered the art of keeping people at bay.Perhaps that was her power.Witchcraft. Verbal sorcery.It was the only reasonable explanation for why Arnav hadn’t thrown her out the moment she appeared in his private study, wearing a dress so infuriatingly familiar, so indecently stunning, it bordered on cruel.“Yes,” he replied, his voice clipped, but not cold enough to freeze
Raellyn awoke in a daze of dopamine and delirium, her heart fluttering in a rhythm she hadn’t felt in years. It reminded her of the first time she ever fell in love heady, overwhelming, and strangely pure. The cold air of the room nipped at her skin, but it couldn’t dampen the fire that still burned within her chest. She wriggled out of the cocoon of bedsheets that had wrapped tightly around her like a silken chrysalis, her body still sensitive to the faintest movements.The morning light poured in, almost blinding in its brilliance. She blinked, squinting at the open window. The heavy curtains had been drawn and tied neatly at the sides, letting the day invade her sanctuary. Her gaze lingered there for a moment, then drifted back inward, to the unspoken smile curling her lips. A giggle bubbled up in her throat. What was this feeling?She was... happy.Utterly and foolishly happy.It was absurd, almost embarrassing. She was behaving like some wide-eyed girl freshly drunk on her first