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 toreconsiderbecause 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 wastearfullyadamant.”
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.
