I tore the envelope open and let the paper unfold between my fingers, reading the first line slowly, and by the time my eyes reached the next sentence, the weight of her message crashed through me all at once.
“What the fuck is this?”
Chapter Five
SERENITY VEYLOR-KORVEN
Iwoke up with my body feeling heavy and my mind clear about everything that happened last night. I could still hear myself calling him an idiot, a coward, a man who spent eleven months hiding from the woman he said he wanted dead. I remembered the exact moment something in me broke and shifted, when I stopped trying to fix his hatred and started thinking about how I wanted to spend whatever time I had left.
A month.
If I was going to die in a month, I refused to leave this world untouched at 27 years old.
I had written a letter and made sure it reached my husband, just so he’d understand I wasn’t bluffing last night. I said I would live, and now I was going to start.
Valery walked into my room just as I finished fixing my hair, fluffing the thick curls so a few fell around my face. I haddecorated my hair with small flowers, the way I always liked to do. I knew it was unconventional, and I never missed the way people looked at me when they saw an afro full of flowers. Sometimes they were curious, sometimes amazed. For me, those flowers gave me comfort. They made me feel like I still had some control over my life.
I had never really been allowed to make my own choices. My father and brother decided everything about my future. After they died, the Big Six council gave me away in marriage to a man who wanted me dead. I never got to choose. I had to go along with whatever they decided for me. But the flowers, my own little garden I cared for and arranged in my hair, gave me a small sense of freedom. Today, I needed that feeling of control more than ever, so I could finally do something just for me, without needing anyone’s permission.
“You look… rested,” Valery said carefully. “In a good mood, even.”
I picked up the cream and began smoothing it over my legs. “I am,” I answered.
She watched me for a beat, then continued. “I sent the letter, just like you asked. Krash confirmed he received it for Mr. Korven.”
A small knot loosened in my chest. “So he has it.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Either way, whether he reads it or tears it up, my choice stays the same. I didn’t write it to beg. At least he can’t say he’s surprised when I go through with it.”
Valery looked at me, curiosity and concern mixing in her eyes. “Yousoundvery sure about everything you’re planning to do but are youreallysure about this?”
I let out a breath. “When I die, I don’t want to leave this world with regrets.”
She nodded and left the room without saying another word. Ifinished getting dressed, slipping into a tight, short dress that showed off all my thighs. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I thought I looked good. I felt free, ready to take back my life.
I had just finished the final touch of my makeup when Valery knocked again. She opened the door without waiting for an answer, her eyes a little wider than before.
“Serenity, Konflict is here.”
The words stung deep.
“He’s in the main salon. He arrived a few minutes ago and told the staff he would wait for you. He looks furious.”
For a second, my heart raced faster than my breath. Then the calm I’d practiced all morning settled over me again. If this was the battlefield I had chosen, I would not walk onto it shaking.
“Very well,” I said, lifting my chin. “I’ll make him wait.”
And I did.
I took my time, making sure I would piss him off. Then, after thirty minutes, I followed Valery down the corridor. When we reached the doorway of the main salon, Valery stepped aside and I walked in.
My gaze landed on him and I took my time taking in every detail from his broad frame to his clean line up. He stood tense in the center of the room, his jaw working as if he were chewing through his own restraint. The anger in him could be felt from miles away. His eyes found and locked on me the second I crossed the threshold, dragging over every inch of my dress, every line of exposed skin, every curve perfectly shown. Heat sparked low in my stomach at the way his gaze lingered, before I reminded myself I was supposed to be angry, not responsive.
I let my hips sway the slightest bit more as I walked toward the armchair opposite him. I sat down slowly, crossing one leg over the other, the slit of my dress sliding up enough to draw his eyes whether he wanted to look or not. Then I rested my elbow on the armrest and curled my fingers lightly against my chin, looking athim with a calm that I knew would irritate him.
I wanted to piss him off.
