That got him smiling. "Isn't that what I always do?"
She slapped his chest playfully. "You make me sound like such a tyrant."
"Because you are."
She would have argued if not for the need to act depressed and despondent.
One more day.
Just one more day of pulling off this impossible act of pretending that everything was normal while also acting sad enough to make a suicide believable.
Well, she was sad. But it was a different kind of sad. It wasn't despair. On the contrary, it was hope for something much better. She was just sad to leave behind everyone she cared about.
Tony took her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. "Let's go inside, so you can put me to work on rebinding old books. I love learning new skills."
He did, which was one of the things she loved about him. He was always so curious. But for every positive, Tony had a negative, and sometimes the scales tilted in his favor and sometimes against.
It was so very human of him.
Tula was well aware of what she was doing. She was distancing herself from Tony and shoring up her internal protective walls.
"Good morning," Areana said as they entered. "Are you joining us in the library today, Tony?"
"Tula wants me to help her, and I'm more than happy to learn the art of book rebinding."
"I see." Areana's gaze fixed on Tula, and even without looking, Tula could feel the silent reprimand. She wasn't supposed to do this. Clinging to Tony was not her normal mode of operation, and it would be suspicious.
But how was she supposed to act normal when tomorrow night she would be gone forever from Tony's life?
How was she supposed to maintain the careful façade of depression when she felt like she might burst apart from too many emotions all fighting for space inside her chest?
"The Greek poetry book is such a big undertaking," she said. "It has over fifty signatures. I could really use Tony's help with it, and I'm sure that Elias can do without him for one day."
It wasn't even Tony's official job to assist Elias in the interior garden or the medicinal one in the outside gardens. Tony had volunteered because he loved learning about plants, and Elias was like a walking encyclopedia of knowledge on that subject and many others.
"I see." Areana nodded. "It is a laborious undertaking." The goddess cast Tula a look that was edged with concern and tinted with reprimand, before returning to her work.
The message had been clear. A woman planning to kill herself should be withdrawn, listless, going through the motions of life while sinking deeper into despair. But Tula wasn't sinking. She was floating, spinning between euphoria and devastation with nothing to anchor her.
As she and Tony worked in silence, organizing the materials on her desk, Tula tried to focus on the physical task, but her mind kept spinning forward to tomorrow night.
Hopefully, the guards would be watching from a distance. She would have to make it convincing, would have to cry and sob on Areana's shoulder, and seem desperate. Would her acting be good enough?
"Tula."
She looked down and realized she'd been dusting the same signature for far longer than was justified.
"Sorry." She set it down. "I got lost inside my own head."
"That happens sometimes." Tony caught her hand, squeezing it lightly to signal that he understood.
He didn't, though. He had no clue.
She was going to escape this place and never see him again. She was going to have their baby somewhere safe, surrounded by a clan of immortals who had become Wonder's family and would hopefully welcome her as well, while he would be here, thinking she was dead.
The unfairness of it was staggering.
Unless they extracted Tony soon after her.
