Chapter 12

“Yeah..,” I whispered shyly. I couldn’t say what was going through his head as he watched me.

“Okay..” he started. “First off, My love, would you please look up at me? I’m dying of confusion here.”

I peered up at him, his eyes wasn’t darkened in anger or resentment. Nothing changed, he looked at me the same way he did yesterday and even before my confession. The realization unsettled me.

He let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair before looking back at me like he was trying to understand me now. “I know who you are, you’re my wife.”

My heart skipped a beat.

He continued, softer now, “You are Brianna Stewart, the one I asked for, the one I waited for and the one I’m fully aware I’m getting married to. So why are you confessing like I’m in the dark and pardon my French but who the hell is Emily?”

My eyes scanned his for any iota of deception, was I being lured to believe otherwise?

*He didn’t even know Emily?*

“Emily is the youngest Stewart daughter,” I responded, “the biological youngest daughter whom you asked for… you know… for the arranged marriage.”

“No.”

His response froze me.

“I know exactly what I asked for,” he said, his voice steady now, leaving no room for doubt. “In the agreement, I asked for the youngest daughter of the Stewart family.”

My breath hitched.

“And that’s you.”

I shook my head immediately.

“Yes, but…no, that’s not….” My voice broke slightly. “I’m adopted. I’m not…. She was the one who was supposed to be here with you, I have nothing to offer, I am adopted…she was the one who was promised.. until she ran off and I’m left to take her place..”

“Hey, hey—”

He stepped closer again, his hands coming up to hold my arms, stopping me before my anxiety took over and I spiraled out of control.

“Calm down,” he said softly.

I could barely breathe. My heart continued to beat like I was running a marathon. He sounded convincing like I could trust him, but could I really.

“I don’t care if you’re adopted or biological,” he continued, his gaze locking onto mine, with an intensity that could burn holes into my retinas, “That changes absolutely nothing for me.”

My heart thumped against my chest.

“I asked for the youngest daughter,” he said again, slower this time, like he needed me to really hear him. “Because I wanted it to be you.”

Everything in me stilled.

“I got exactly what I wanted.”

My thoughts scattered.

“You don’t have to panic,” he added, his voice softer now. “You don’t have to be confused. I guess it was stupid of me not to specify with names but it was always you.”

His thumb brushed lightly against my arm, grounding and warm.

“I’ve always known it was you. It has always been you, it’s a shame we never actually met before now. If I had other ways, you won’t have an iota of doubt about me or my feelings for you.”

My eyes had begun to water before I knew it. If I was deprived of love, it was definitely showing now.

I know it was pathetic but I couldn’t help it. I like to think of myself as unfazed, indifferent by whether I was loved or cared for, I didn’t let it get to me. Not back at the orphanage and definitely not at the Stewart house.

And that was why with the way Adrian spoke to me like cared, explained and assured me, my heart started to feel weird.

He didn’t look like he was lying. He wasn’t shocked or angry, he wasn’t yelling that he had been deceived. He knew all along. He asked for me and father had gotten it wrong. It was all seeming like fate.

If Emily had been the one to come, old his behavior had been different? I had so much to ask. How did he know me? How long has he known me? He spoke to me like we had been involved for so long.

While I was overthinking why he called me all those different pet names, obsessing on whether he even knew my name. He knew it, he just didn’t want to…

I had to ask, I couldn’t help it.

“But.. why the pet names. You’ve never called my name out loud before.” I questioned before I could stop myself. “I thought you didn’t know my name.”

“Oh.. baby,” he murmured, his thumb brushing the lone tear filling the side of my eyes. “I never called you by your name for a reason.”

“As much as I love your name,” his gaze softened even more, “‘Baby’ just sounds way better. And so does the many more pet names I have on my belt. How do you like ‘my angel’?”

My heart must have cracked at that moment because a wave of overwhelming heat flowed through me.