He froze.
As if my words had stabbed straight into the softest part of his heart.
In that instant—
I saw it.
He actually believed it. Believed I meant something else toward him.
But when his gaze met my eyes—now cold, emptied of anything he’d hoped for—
that absurd flicker of expectation shattered instantly.
His eyes flushed red, as if humiliated, as if I’d slapped him across the face.
I was scared.
Truly scared.
I reached out, trying to push him away.
But he didn’t move at all—like a wall, sealing every breath of air around me.
“You think I’ll let you marry another man?”
His voice was low, dangerous, laced with something almost intimate.
My heartbeat lurched into chaos.
I didn’t dare look at him. My lashes lowered. “Who I marry… has nothing to do with you.”
He laughed.
Co
