Contractually Married my ex-mate's father のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

Chapter Seventy TwoAriaThe door shut behind us with a heavy finality that made my spine straighten.Zane didn’t yell, at least not yet, and that was worse. He walked past me without looking at me, shrugging off his jacket in one smooth, controlled motion. He draped it over the back of a chair with deliberate care, like he was placing something fragile down instead of preparing for a fight.He didn't speak still, and the silence stretched between us. I could still feel the heat of the courtyard on my skin, the lantern light, the murmurs and down to Rhett’s eyes on me.“You stood in the middle of that courtyard,” Zane said finally, his back still to me, “and tied yourself to him.”Not you embarrassed me, not you defied me. He was starting with him.“No.” I exhaled slowly. “I tied myself to results.”He turned then, and there was nothing soft in his expression.“You stood beside Rhett,” he repeated. “In front of my people.”“I stood in front of our people,” I corrected.“Don't do that,

Chapter Seventy FourAriaIf anyone had predicted that this was how things would go for me, best believe I would have laughed in their face and called them crazy. It didn't even make sense. The more I thought about it, the harder it was to actually believe it.How did it all go so wrong?I didn't even get the chance to fully wallow in self pity before Rhett's hand tightened around my wrist again. His hold on me wasn't firm nor was it pleading, it was possessive.“Let. Me. Go.” I twisted hard, digging my heels into the stone.“I told you,” Rhett said quietly, his voice losing whatever softness it had held before, “you’re coming with me.”“No, I’m not.” I hissed and he pulled.I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before crashing into him again. His grip shifted from my wrist to my upper arm, fingers biting into flesh.“Rhett,” I snapped, shoving against his chest. “You’re crossing a line. You're going to regret this.”“You crossed it first,” he shot back. “The second you walked in

Chapter Seventy SixAriaI woke up alone, but not physically. He was still in the room, but alone in the way that mattered.The space beside me was cold, sheets already smooth, like he’d been gone for a while. I blinked against the light filtering through the curtains and pushed myself up slowly.Zane stood near the window. He was fully dressed, his boots on and jacket buttoned. If there was anything worse than the fact that he was already up, it had to be his Stony expression.He wasn’t looking at me, he wasn’t even pretending to, and it sent a crack through my chest.“Good morning,” I said carefully, my voice still thick with sleep.“Morning.” He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve.That was it. There was no “did you sleep well?”, no glance over his shoulder, no softening around the eyes, no hand reaching for me like he usually did.He'd given me just one word. Something tight and unpleasant twisted in my stomach.“You’re up early,” I tried.“I have work.” his voice came out flat and co

Chapter Seventy EightAriaI had faced worse rooms than that chamber. At least, that’s what I told myself as i walked towardss the council chamber. I'd been there more times than I would like to remember, and even though I'd aced my presence there so many times,I found myself particularly doubtful this morning.I wasn't one to be moody, but I couldn't help it feel like it had everything to do with the fact that Zane was still mad at me.Thinking about it still hurt, and to make things worse, he hadn't come to the room last night. Kieran had said he was holed up in his office for work, but I knew that was just an excuse to avoid me.Now,I was literally walking into the den of lions, and I wasn't feeling the least bit motivated to confident.Great. Just fucking great.I snapped out of it when the double doors of the chambers came into place, and when the doors closed behind me, I took in the gory sight before me.The council sat arranged in their usual arc, elevated just enough to remin

Chapter EightyZaneThe air in my office was stagnant, thick with the scent of old parchment and the metallic tang of ink, but all I could smell was the ghost of lilies and rain. To anyone else, it could have been a random scent, but it wasn't to me.Not at all.I stared at the military reports on my desk until the words blurred into meaningless scratches. It had been two days, two days since I had touched her. Two days since the west chambers, where I had marked her skin and claimed her soul in the moonlight. I had stayed away because I was still mad about the Rhett situation, and in my own terms,I was right.The events of that night could have been avoided had she just listened to me, but she hadn't and now she had herself to blame.I told myself distance was the best thing, it would also help her concentrate on the council's tests, but the distance was a physical ache, even a slow acting poison in my blood.I leaned back, my chair creaking in the silence, and closed my eyes and I q