Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
But he should have known she was too young for him.
Should have known the novelty would wear off eventually.
Should have known better than to believe a girl like her could ever truly want a man like him.
“When I regained my memories,” she continued softly, “I realized that life was too short to stand between you. I wanted you both to be happy, even if it meant stepping aside.”
Mik’hail decided he had heard enough about Aurora. The sooner he forgot her, the better. And that could only happen if anything and anyone connected to her—her own sister and his former betrothed included—was out of the picture.
He opened his mouth to tell Aretha the real reason he had come here—to inform her that arrangements were being made for her return to Suneria, that their betrothal was permanently dissolved, that he never wanted to see her face again—
But then she spoke again.
“I just didn’t expect she’d back out.”
Mik’hail paused.
Back out?
That was a curious choice of word for a girl who had dropped him for being too old.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Aretha added, her eyes downcast. “I know how much it must have hurt.”
He took a closer look at her this time. Aretha looked fragile and delicately beautiful in her hospital gown, propped up against crisp white pillows like a porcelain doll. But he also knew her well enough to recognize that her appearance was meticulously planned to the last detail. The artful drape of her dark hair. The pale pink of her lips. Even the way she had positioned herself against the pillows—it was all calculated to make her look as sympathetic as possible.
“Indeed,” he heard himself say slowly. “Her reason for backing out surprised me.”
Aretha nodded, her expression full of sisterly concern.
“I even asked her to reconsider.”
Aretha jerked. She couldn’t help it. The words caught her so off guard that her body reacted before her mind could stop it. The sheikh had asked Aurora to reconsider?
That shouldn’t have happened. This was not...this could never have happened if Aurora had just done what Aretha had asked her to do. Aretha might not be in love with Michael, but she knew him. Knew how proud, noble, and stupidly honorable he was. That man would never have asked Aurora to reconsider because that wouldn’t have been noble. And so that could only mean one thing.
Aurora had said something else.
But what?
“Aurora wouldn’t hear of it,” Mik’hail continued. “She was tearfully adamant.”
Aretha struggled to conceal her growing panic...along with her rage. She knew she should say something soon. The sheikh was watching her with those dark, unreadable eyes, and she could feel the weight of his attention like a blade at her throat. One wrong word, and he would be on to her. But if she stayed silent, wouldn’t that arouse suspicion as well?
Think, Aretha. Think.
“I know you’re loyal to your sister,” Mik’hail said quietly. “But you need to tell me the truth.”
Bullshit, Aretha thought. If she were to tell him the truth, he would have—
Wait a minute.
Aretha nearly gasped as understanding finally dawned.
That idiot.
That stupid, noble, self-sacrificing idiot.
Aurora hadn’t stuck to the script at all. She hadn’t told Mik’hail he was too old for her. She hadn’t claimed it was just infatuation. No—because Aurora shared the same foolish streak of nobility that Mik’hail had, she had told him the truth instead.
The truth about the envoys. The truth about Suneria. The truth about why she was really leaving.
Damn her.
“I’m sorry, Mik’hail.” Aretha let her voice tremble, just slightly. “I tried to stop her. I told her you wouldn’t be the type to care about such things. But she was adamant that leaving you was the best thing to do. For the sake of Layla and Suneria.”
Mik’hail’s fists slowly clenched at his sides. Aurora had never mentioned anything about Suneria. More importantly, she wasn’t supposed to know about the envoys or their threats. That meeting had been private. Confidential.
But she did know.
Somehow, she had found out.
And if he had known she was aware of the sanctions—
No, no, no.
Mik’hail remembered Aurora’s face in his study. The way she had sat across from him, pale and trembling, her voice steady even as her hands shook in her lap.
You’re too old for me.
There’s so much I still want to do with my life.
He remembered how she had agreed with everything he said. How she hadn’t argued, hadn’t protested, hadn’t begged him to reconsider.
I’m pleased to hear this.
I’m glad we see things the same way.
He remembered the flatness in her eyes. The emptiness in her voice. The way she had turned and walked out without looking back.
If he had just known. If she had told him she knew about the envoys.
He would have realized right away that she was lying.
That everything she said—the words about being too old, about infatuation, about wanting to experience life—