It’s a fair question. A smart question, really. And I respect her for asking it.
“That depends on who it is,” I say honestly. “If it’s one of my people? I’ll handle it internally. If it’s one of yours? That’s a bit more complicated. But I promise you this—” I lean forward, holding her gaze. “I won’t use this as an excuse to go after your family. I won’t use whatever information you give me to hurt innocent people. This isn’t about revenge anymore. This is about survival.”
Vera shakes her head. “This was always about revenge,” she says quietly. “That’s why you married me, remember?”
I close my eyes. Again, she’s right. This did start as revenge, but somewhere between watching her try those locked doors and throwing myself over her body yesterday, something changed.
I’m just not sure what.
“Things change,” I say finally as I open my eyes. “People change. Situations change. What this was doesn’t matter as much as what it is now.”
She raises a brow. “And what is it now?”
“Complicated.” I allow myself a grim smile. “Very,verycomplicated.”
She almost smiles back. It’s tiny, barely there, but I catch it. The corner of her mouth twitching up for just a second before she suppresses it.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile in my presence. The first crack in the wall of fear and hostility between us.
And it does something to me, but I don’t want to examine it too closely.
“Will you help me?” I ask.
She’s quiet for a long moment. “Is there anything else you need me to do?”
Intense relief floods through me. “Just keep thinking. About anything you might have seen or heard before the wedding. Any detail that seemed insignificant at the time but might mean something now. If you remember anything else—any conversations, any strange behavior, anything that felt wrong—tell me.”
She nods slowly before looking down at her hands. “Okay.”
“And Vera?” I wait until she looks at me. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Yesterday proved that someone is willing to kill to sabotage this peace. But you’re under my protection now and that—that means something. I’ll keep you safe, even if—” I stop myself.
She sits up a bit straighter. “Even if what?”
Even if it costs me everything. Even if it means going against my own family. Even if it means admitting that somewhere along the way, you stopped being just a hostage and became something I can’t afford to lose.
But I don’t say any of that. Instead I say, “Even if it means pissing off both our families to do it.”
She studies me for a long moment, those amber-flecked eyes seeing too much. “Why?”
I blink. “Why what?”
Vera huffs out a dry laugh. “Why would you protect me? You hate me. You hate my family. This whole arrangement is supposed to be my punishment. So why would you…” She gestures vaguely. “Why would you throw yourself over me yesterday? Why are you promising to keep me safe now?”
It’s a good question and it’s one I’ve been asking myself since 3 am.
“Because you’re my wife,” I say finally. “And despite how this started and why we’re here... that means something. I don’t let what’s mine get hurt.”
It’s not the whole truth, but it’s all I can give her right now.
She nods slowly, but I can see she doesn’t fully believe me. I can’t blame her for that.
“Is that all?” she asks quietly.
I should say yes and dismiss her to get back to work. I need to maintain the distance that’s been keeping me sane. But instead, I hear myself say, “How are you feeling? After yesterday?”
From the way her eyebrows rise and her head tilts, she’s just as surprised as I am at my question
“I’m... fine,” she says, but it’s automatic. It’s the kind of fine people tell when they’re anything but fine.
