"Who are you?" Amara whispered, shifting slightly and leaning against the bed rest.
"Rafael told you who I am, didn’t he." Kaelith saw unfamiliarity in her eyes, something that shouldn’t trouble him, but it did. To the point, he felt his feelings resurfacing.
"...Kaelith..." she tested his name on her tongue while nodding. Kaelith stiffened hearing his name coming from her tongue. Something he dreamed of every day for the past two years. There was a strange sensation in the way she muttered his name. Something he hadn't gotten before. He cleared his throat averting his gaze from her face and spoke.
Before the oceans of her eyes could drown him, he averted his eyes.
"I'll send someone to change your bandages. Your clothes are in the wardrobe; all the necessities will be in the cabinet below the sink." He continued. "Dinner will be ready at 8. If you are hungry, I'll send someone with snacks-"
"I'm not hungry." She shook her head. Despite being dizzy-headed and weak, she barely felt like eating anything.
"Thenhavesomerest."Hedecidedtoleavehertorestasheclosedthedoorafterexitingthe door. He took a few deep breaths to calm his heart as he walked to his office where Rafael was waiting for him.
“Nice show you put out there,” Kaelith said, walking to the alcohol stack and pouring himself a whiskey. “Almost made her believe you left her.”
"Is everything prepared?" Rafael asked without entertaining his brother, but frowned noticing the disheveled look in his brother's eyes. Before he could say anything, Kaelith gulped the whiskey down.
"Why my house? You know what this means right?" Kaelith trailed swirling the glass of whiskey in his fingers, eyeing the liquid. Rafael sighed. Not this shit again.
"Cause I know you’ll never hurt her,” Rafael said with a softer voice. The glass shattered in Kaelith's hand, the glass shreds piercing his skin yet he remained silent.
Rafael took it as his chance to continue. “Whatever happened in past, let it be. I am not saying it was right, but Amara is far more important than anything right now. I need to find the bastard who did this…to her.”
Kaelith scoffed.
"Do I look like a fucking caretaker to you?" A muscle in his jaw twitched as his cold eyes pinned Rafael.“You snatchedher away from me, and now when you are not capable of keeping her safe, you are pushing her onto me.”
"Kaelith-" Rafael sensed the tension in the air as he sighed and tried to talk but Kaelith was already circling the table. Rafael cursed himself for bringing the past.
Before Rafael even realized what was happening, he was airborne.
Crack.
His back slammed violently against the heavy oak table, the force rattling everything on top of it. Rafael barely had time to inhale before a fist curled around the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward.
Face to face.
Breath to breath.
And suddenly he was staring straight into the dark, merciless eyes of Kaelith.
Gone was the lazy amusement.
Gone was the mocking grin.
What remained was something far more dangerous.
“This doesn’t work that way,brother.” His grip tightened. Rafael felt the fabric digging painfully into his throat. “If I take her…” Kaelith leaned closer. Close enough for Rafael to see the fury simmering beneath his calm exterior. “Then I keep her.” His jaw clenched. “Forever. Not for a few fucking months.”
Rafael’s heartbeat kicked violently against his ribs. For the first time since making this call, he felt genuinely unsettled. “Kaelith—”
But the other man wasn’t done. “If you’ve decided you’re incapable of being the man she deserves and her damned husband…” His eyes darkened. “Then I’ll gladly take your place.”
Rafael swallowed hard. His throat suddenly felt dry.
“…What the hell are you saying?”
Kaelith’s expression didn’t change. Not even slightly. “I said…” He released each word with chilling precision. “…I’m keeping your wife.”
