Their Wife

Thirty-Eight

I clenched my fist as memories of why I was in this predicament flashed through my head. Memories that that were better left forgotten memories that shouldn't exist in the first place. I had been able to save myself from public humiliation with the help of Zev, Axel, Ezra, and Jaxon, but that couldn't erase the memories that lead to this moment. That lead to me sitting here with a metal cuff on my ear with a pen in my hand, ready to sign documents to deal with a hindrance the council had thrown our way. If I hadn't wanted to keep my predicament quiet, the council wouldn't have been an issue in the slightest.

A door slammed further into the manor. I sighed. Zev must have locked her in her room. Judging by his behaviour, he must have felt more differently about her than he let anyone see. Axel's pheromones seemed to have hit him the hardest right after Ezra. His anger and shock were enough to make him overlook logic and reason, something he lived by. It worked in my favour, but it also increased my concerns regarding the broody Fae. It would take a blind fool to believe that a magic-less, twig of a girl caused that much damage to a boy.

A flash of her body, broken and beaten like the boy from earlier, flashed through my mind as I moved my pen to sign the papers. This world was a cruel place. Would she look like that boy once she learned that for herself?

She would be fine.

I pressed the tip of the pen into the thick parchment and signed the bottom of the page. I didn't need to dwell on the well-being of a woman I barely knew. It was what had gotten me here in the first place. Luckily, with the help of Lady June and Lady Rose, we'd be divorced from Ms. Riar by next week. I'd be rid of the risk she posed.

Hopefully, Axel's hormones would stay in the others systems for a while. It would make removing the possible danger less of a pain.

* * *

Nea Riar

I braced my hands on the countertop and hissed in a breath. No amount of sucking in reduced the pressure restricting my ribcage.

"Sorry, Lady Riar!" Cindy exclaimed, red-faced as she tugged the lace strings of my corset. "Just-" pull, "-a little-" pull, "-more."

I wondered if organs knew where they belonged and would return to their original locations once I had taken off the suffocating and stiff piece of clothing.

"There!" Cindy said and she tied off the ends of the ribbons. She seemed satisfied with her work if the beaming smile on her face was anything to go by.

I, on the other hand, hated it. It restricted my movements, was painful and made it difficult to breathe. Each breath I took dug my ribs into the corset as they stopped them from functioning like intended.

She tucked her vibrantly coloured hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful, Lady Riar!" She said on a breathy sigh as she swooned dreamily. Fussing around me, she threw out random comments and compliments while unnecessary straightening the fabric of the dress or the loose curls of hairs hanging around my neck.

I felt an involuntary smile tug the corner of my lips from her overdramatic antics. I was sure she had seen more beautiful women than me. I had seen more than five the previous day at breakfast and half of them didn't even look human with exotic features such as horns, fangs, and patches of scales on their skin. It was an interesting sight to take in at first, but once you got past the initial shock, it turned into more of a manual effort to not stare.

My stomach rumbled at the memory of breakfast. I hadn't left the confines of my room since Zev had locked me inside since yesterday. I hadn't been given food or had anyone come to see me since then. The only disturbance was when I had returned from the bathroom to find a few books on etiquette and mannerism.