Seeing Azam again knocked the very air from her lungs. He was Azam, he washerAzam. He was just as beautiful, even more so now after time apart.
But there was something immediately different about him, as well.
He stepped into the room wearing a fancy uniform similar to what her old tailor had worn. His movements were slightly stiff, as if he was uncomfortable. He was very quiet, his gaze downturned. He wouldn’t look at her directly. ‘Your Royal Highness,’ he said, bowing his head.
Her heart squeezed painfully at the familiar sound of his voice. They had been so close, and now he was so far away. Immediately, she hated the distance between them. She wanted to go back toeasy mornings over cups of tea, late nights by the fire, and every moment in between.
But those memories felt miles away.
Sonya turned to her maids, telling them to leave. They all left, until Sonya and Azam were entirely alone in the wide expanse of her rooms.
Silence hung between them. She waited for him to explain, to make some excuse, but he was silent. He would not meet her gaze.
Her eyes went to the measuring tape around his neck. Well, if he had nothing to say, she supposed they might as well get to work.
Releasing a short breath, she walked to her dressing room and, a moment later, he followed, though he kept his gaze on his feet. Sonya frowned. She hated this: the hunch of his shoulders, the humble way he held his hands, as if he was making himself small.
She wanted her carefree, confident Azam back. She wanted to be his Sonya again, not the princess of their kingdom.
Sonya undid the belt of her dressing gown, letting it drop to the floor, revealing a thin nightgown. He clenched his jaw, lids fluttering. She caught a glimmer of the Azam she’d known for a brief moment before he looked away. He swallowed.
‘I already know your measurements,’ he said, voice quiet.
Her brow furrowed with her confusion. ‘Then what are you doing here?’ she asked.
Finally, he looked up at her. His expression was pained but honest. ‘I wanted to see you,’ he said, taking a step toward her.
Her breathing hitched, and she had to stop herself from running to him. ‘Why?’ she asked, hands trembling.
‘Don’t you know why?’ he asked, voice miserable.
Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them away. ‘I thought I did, but now…’ She shook her head. ‘One thing doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t you turn me in sooner?’
His hands fidgeted. ‘I was going to alert the castle the very next morning, after you’d had some rest,’ he said. ‘You had obviously had a rough night, and traveling back to the castle would be tiresome. But then you told us why you had run away, and…I couldn’t bring myself to do it.’ His gaze burned into hers.
Her heart rate picked up. ‘Why not?’ she asked, taking a step toward him. She heard the sharp intake of his breath.
‘I—’ He stepped closer, and she inhaled the strong scent of black tea on his skin. He looked as though he was about to tell her, and she held her breath, waiting.
But then, suddenly, he stopped. He hung his head, and she saw the way his face shuttered. The Azam she knew was gone, replaced by her royal tailor.
She hated it.
‘Was any of it real or was it all a big deception?’ she asked, voice breaking. ‘Did it mean anything?’
A crease appeared between his brows, but he would not look up and let her see the emotion on his face. ‘Of course it meant something,’ he whispered. ‘It meant everything.’
Somehow, that hurt more. It would be so much simpler if he was selfish and evil, if she didn’t love him. But she did love him.
She just couldn’t trust him. Even now, he wouldn’t speak freely. There was a wall up between them, put there by him, and she could not tear it down by herself.
‘And now you are to be my tailor,’ she said. ‘What about Bunto’s?’
‘This pays much more,’ he replied, voice soft.
‘But the royal tailor lives at the castle,’ she said, realizing this fact. ‘What about Kiri? And Dania?’
‘They understand that this is an opportunity that I cannot pass up.’
