“Did you reschedule it?” I ask him, the two parts of me warring—the one that wants to focus on the present and the one stuck in the past.
“Not yet.”
“Do it.”
“Are you sure? You seem settled.”
I can’t deny it, but it’s not enough. Or maybe I am just not destined to enjoy serenity. Maybe everything is ephemeral.
There’s this nagging feeling, an invisible alarm ticking toward doom. Both Vian and I sense that.
He’s hiding something. It’s clear. But what? I suspect he knows me from before. As far-fetched as it sounds, it’s the only logical explanation I can postulate.
The possibility leaves me desolate. If that were the case, his cruelty would know no bounds, and I could never forgive him.
But how can the man who looks at me like I am his life be the one to betray me the worst?
What if Vian is my lost love? I shake my head, frowning at myself for having such a wild fantasy.
I hear his jet landing, and Conrad says, “Enjoy your honeymoon. Be happy, Zara. You truly deserve it.”
“Thank you. For everything,” I say, emotions lodged in my throat.
I trust this man completely, and he nods, a muscle in his jaw straining as he retreats, leaving me to wonder what is bothering him.
I walk toward the window and find Vian in the Jeep, my heart beating unruly, overly excited. That’s nothing new in his magnetic presence; he has been drawing me in from the moment I saw him.
As if he knows I am watching him, his eyes roam around, landing on me through the window. Like an arrow hitting the intended mark, he pins me to the spot.
A wolfish grin stretches across his face, loving to affect me.
I smile, besotted with this man as I rush downstairs. Denying it would be in vain. Hiding it would be blasphemy.
I reach the foyer, noticing my household manager standing beside my luggage.
“Thank you,” I say, and the door opens to reveal him.
I doubt the day will come when he doesn’t captivate me. He captures my attention, tugging at my heartstrings with a simple gaze.
He cuts the distance between us in two long strides and lifts me off the floor, slanting his mouth over mine. Everything else vanishes, his heated kiss layered with sheer passion and unfiltered desire, unraveling me.
“Ready?” he asks, sounding as eager for some undisturbed time as I am.
Our honeymoon should thrill me, but loss looms like a shadow of dread.
I plaster a smile on my face and ignore my gut instinct once again. After I have my fill of him over the honeymoon, I will uncover the mystery.
I can trust him with my body.
I can trust him with my heart.
But I can’t trust him with my brain. That’s why the mission of discovery I will embark on once we return will remain secret.
I have a few starting points: the tattoo, the house, and some flashbacks. If the therapist can’t help me, I will scour the world for someone who can.
Inside the jet, seated across from one another, I look at my handsome husband, the man I know deep down I love with all of me.Don’t be the one to break my heart after I entrusted you with it.
I roll the ring on my finger, and he notices. “Nervous?”
