gardens, leaving everyone behind.
It surprisingly reminded me of home.
“Are you trying to test my patience this evening?”
Nicholas’s voice thundered in my mind, and I ignored him. If he wished to talk to me, he could have an actual conversation
with me. I felt brave, baiting the monster. I wanted to see what he would do while half of his court and sisters watched. I dared
him to.
“Do not ignore me. My patience is running thin with you.”
“I will ignore anyone who speaks to me with the disrespect you have given me.”
I knew he was standing next to me even before he spoke. His presence was an overwhelming force. No matter how much I
longed for his touch. I would not allow myself to be fooled again. I’d already done that once, and to do it again would make a
mockery out of myself.
“What is the matter with you?” he asked me and I laughed, taking another sip of my drink.
“What’s the matter with you?” I replied, sarcastically.
“Ornella. You are walking on very thin ice.”
“Let it break and leave me to drown. I don’t care anymore.”
His anger rolled off of him, hitting me over my shoulders and as much as I tried not to show it, I knew he saw me flinch as
my body shifted. Leaning back on the bench, that small voice inside of me begged me to run away. I was in danger, but I was
frozen to the spot.
“Why do you cause me so much grief, Ornella?”
I wanted to roll back my head and laugh at him. At how stupidly daft he was. Why would he expect me to still fall in love
with him, or even do his bidding when he treated me no better than dirt on his shoe?
“You are the cause of your own grief, Nicholas. For every step I take to be closer to you, you take two steps back. And
telling Percy you would rather see me dead than back with my family? That was the last thing I could deal with.”
He stayed silent, standing close behind me as I continued to stare forward. Keeping my eyes on the gardens, I watched how
the moon shone brightly down towards the water features and silently begged it to swallow me up.
Standing up straight, I finished my drink then turned to face him, swallowing my nerves as I looked at him. His beautifully
carved face stared at me, the greys in his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. There was such a lull between us, I tried desperately
not to move forward, to close the gap between us.
“I would have been your loyal, devoted, loving wife and companion. You are what has ruined this marriage before it even
began.”
