Chapter Five
“Unbelievable!” Damien huffed from the head of the table.
Thalia was eating breakfast when she heard her brother’s exclamation. She glanced up, saw that he was reading the newspaper, and decided not to ask what was the matter.
Only because I know what it will be. Perhaps if I am lucky, he will take the hint and move on from his rumblings.
“This is absurd,” her brother said again, louder this time.
Thalia sighed and put down her knife and fork. “Is something the matter, Brother?”
Damien lowered the paper and looked over its top with a scowl that was very unlike him. Ordinarily, he was the picture of self-control, rarely letting his anger get the best of him because he had been raised to know the importance of keeping a level head.
Lately, Damien had been losing his temper more and more often
“There is another article in the paper about you and Amberhall.” His lips curled into a snarl. “That is the third this week!”
“And what does it say?”
“You know what!” he snapped.
Thalia grinned. She had asked the question on purpose to upset her brother.It is so good to see a plan come together.“Let me guess…” She clicked her tongue as if to consider. “They are hypothesizing on the likely circumstances surrounding the engagement. Something along the lines of our eternal love for one another, and how this was always the plan. Even that I interrupted the wedding on purpose, distraught as I was to see the man of my dreams marrying another.” She pumped her eyebrows. “How did I do?”
“You read it already.” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“I did not.” She sighed and picked up her knife and fork. “I am just very good at guessing what the gossip columns are going to write. I do have a knack for courting rumor, after all. Besides…” She cut into a piece of toast and plopped it in her mouth. “That is what all the other ones have said, so it’s not so much guessing as it is speaking the obvious.”
“I am glad you are finding this so amusing.”
To that, Thalia exhaled as if a weight was falling from her shoulders. “At this stage, what else is there to do but laugh? It is not as if complaining is going to change anything.”
Her brother’s eyes narrowed further. “Thalia, please do not tell me that… that you are planning something?”
“Now, why would you say that?”
“Because I did not expect you to walk to the noose so willingly.”
She laughed bitterly. “To the noose? That is a strange way of saying it.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, Brother.” Again, she put down her knife and fork, making sure to be looking right at him. “And allow me to put your mind at ease. I am not planning anything. I will not be embarrassing myself further. And I will certainly not be giving the Duke any reason to question his decision to marry me.”
“So you say.”
She shrugged. “It is the truth. Believe me when I tell you, it was a hard one to come by. Alas…” She sighed and shook her head. “In this world, we rarely get what we want.”
He scoffed. “Apt.”
Thalia did not realize until after she said it that she had directly quoted the Duke. As concerning as that might have been, it was low on the list of things for her to worry about.
To hear Thalia’s response to the gossip column that Damian was reading might be to suggest that she was starting to come to terms with what was happening to her. Maybe that she was even making her peace with it? Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
The stark reality was that this wedding was happening whether Thalia wanted it or not, and she had never been the type to descend into depression as a means of dealing with her anger. What she leaned into instead was humor… and cynicism.
If I can’t even laugh at the absurdity of the circumstance, then what hope do I have of getting through this wedding? Not to mention the rest of my life?
It did not help either that Thalia was starting to have mixed feelings about her soon-to-be husband. It would have been so much easier if she hated him, loathed him, wished to see the end of the man! At least that way her feelings would be clear.
