He smirks, but before he can say anything, Mom and Dad return, and we move away from each other instinctively.
Papa takes his head chair at the dining table. Evelyn serves our breakfast. We eat in silence. Meals have never been silent in our house, but Matleon’s presence changes everything.
After finishing, Papa speaks. “Matleon, how long are you planning to stay here?”
He glances at me. “I don’t know.”
“What are your plans?” Papa asks.
“There’s only one plan,” he says seriously. “Bringing my wife back with me.”
I look at him with wide eyes. It was unspokenly clear from his visit, but hearing it aloud feels different, andnot in a bad way.
Papa nods. “And you’ll let her decide whether she wants to go with you or not.”
Matleon’s eyes meet mine for a brief second, then he nods.
“Alright. You can stay here for one week to do your best to win my daughter’s heart and forgiveness.”
A smile touches the corner of Matleon’s lips.
Papa continues, “And for that, you won’t confuse her thoughts using seduction.”
I cough.What nonsense is my father throwing around?
But he doesn’t stop at my coughing. “You’re allowed to talk to her, but you can’t go closer than an arm’s length.”
Matleon nods. I wonder if my father has any ideahow good Matleon is at seduction.
Matleon
I thought he would ask me to fight men to prove I could keep his daughter safe, or make me clean his house, or cook meals. Instead, he asks me to stay an arm’s distance away from her, which is the same as sitting an arm’s length away from water when you’re dying of thirst. And this thirst is only going to grow, because I’m not allowed to quench it.
I had planned to do this myself, but it wouldn’t have taken me more than two days to make her willingly come into my arms. Now I have a week.
I follow her outside into her garden. “What are we doing here, Angel?”
She crouches near a plant. “I’ll be plucking some dried leaves.” She turns toward me. “I don’t know about you.”
I crouch down near her. “I’ll help you collect them.”
We hold eye contact until a cough interrupts our moment.
“Keep your distance, sir,” a male voice says behind us.
I turn my head and find a bodyguard standing there. The man has gone as far as assigning a guard to watch us.
I glare at the bodyguard.
“Don’t try to intimidate my man.”
I slide away from my Angel, look at my father-in-law, and give him a tight-lipped smile.
A soft chuckle comes from beside me. I look at her, my smile easing into a genuine one. She looks back at me, her shiny blue eyes trapping me all over again.
Damn this woman.
Damn her eyes.
