with ancestral pride and hope for the future, he’d enjoyed the sense of comradeship and even destiny as people welcomed him home.
Under false pretenses. There was already a new king or queen waiting to take the throne, hidden beneath the rumpled folds of Lani’s dress.
She struggled with the sash, wrapping its length about her still-slim waist. He wondered if there really was a baby. Perhaps this was her last-ditch effort to send him running? He didn’t know what to believe anymore. Confusion and anger warred inside him. He was used to being the director, setting up the action, telling people what to do. If something didn’t work out he could fix it in post-production—ruthlessly cutting and even reshooting if needed.
There were no retakes in real life.
Her sash now retied, Lani slipped on her sandals. Her fingers shook—and that stirred a trace of pity in his heart.
He crushed it quickly and moved to open the door. From down the corridor he could hear voices, the sound of feet on the stone. Revelers leaving the party. What kind of scandal would it cause for Lani to run past them, eyes filled with tears?
Surely they’d expect no less from a grieving widow forced into marriage with a man she barely knew. Nothing about this situation was pretty.
Lani hesitated in the doorway, plucking nervously at her silk dress.
“Can’t face them?” His voice was cold. “Maybe you could just tell them the truth, like you did with me.”
She hadn’t said a word for some time and her silence was starting to rub him raw. Who was she to stand there looking so innocent and hard-done-by? Suddenly he was the bad guy, the one who threatened to ruin everyone’s careful plans.
Lani’s lips quivered before she finally spoke. “Your mom wants to keep it a secret.”
“Do you do everything she tells you?”
Her silence answered his question.
Irritation flashed over him. “She needs to learn that you can’t manipulate people like puppets.” Maybe that’s where Vanu got it from. He’d certainly pulled the strings in their world from behind the scenes. It was time for someone to snap the strings right off. He grabbed her arm, hating the way his skin heated when he touched her. “Come on, let’s get this charade over with.”
Lani pulled her arm back. Not wanting to get into a wrestling match, he let it go. “It was such a happy evening for your mother.”
AJ frowned. He could still hear the hypnotic drumbeats somewhere in the distance. People were dancing and laughing and enjoying the vision of the future they’d all conjured together such a short time earlier.
“Your mom’s been so sad lately. Can’t we let her enjoy her party?” She didn’t meet his gaze.
“Let the happy charade continue and ignore reality for another day?” His muscles tightened. “Why not? But I don’t think that should extend to keeping you in my room all night.” He shot her a harsh look. “It’s a little too crowded in here with you and your baby.”
Not to mention your dead husband. He didn’t say that, though. He wasn’t totally insensitive.
“Would you mind escorting me along the corridor?” She said it softly, still not lifting her eyes to his. Very Rahiian and traditional. “Everyone will know something’s wrong if they see me by myself.”
He was tempted to say no. Everything was wrong; it was better people should find out. This whole pretense sickened him. And he hated the way Lani’s soft voice tugged at his sympathies and made him want to save her from humiliation.
How could she be so infuriating and still so beautiful at the same time? Her skin glowed in the soft light from the wall sconces, and her hair shimmered like gold thread. “Sure,” he growled.
He did not touch her this time. No need to feel heat flash over his skin where there should be revulsion. He marched down the corridor with Lani hurrying along beside him in her long dress. Lani’s room was on the other side of the palace, past the area where the party was still taking place. Laughter and music spilled into the hallway as they marched on. Groups stood chatting in the hallway outside the ballroom, smiling as they approached.
AJ’s insides contracted. All these people now saw them as the happy couple with a bright future ahead of them.
If they only knew.
“So serious, Arun.” An older man he recognized as one of his father’s ministers smiled at him. “Already the weight of responsibility is carving lines into your face.”
He attempted to soften what must be quite a scowl. “I’m just escorting Lani back to her room. She’s tired.” He didn’t have to make up stories.
“I’m sure she is.” He didn’t wiggle his eyebrows but the implication was there. AJ saw a slight flush rise to Lani’s cheeks.
She should be embarrassed. That’s exactly what she’d wanted. Now everyone thought they’d sealed their pact with wild lovemaking. He cursed the desire that still coursed through his body at the sight of her. All his instincts had told him to stay far, far away from Lani and everything she represented.
They’d been right.
“Your mother is so happy, Arun. What joy you’re bringing to all our people.” The former minister’s wife patted his forearm. “And I’ve never seen a lovelier couple.”
The last remark was addressed to Lani, who replied, “You’re sweet, but I really must get some rest.”
Her smile made her look so innocent and adorable. They had no idea why she needed rest.
AJ’s tension eased slightly as they moved away from the excited guests and down the dimly lit corridor away from the ballroom. He had no intention of returning this way and facing innuendo about exactly what he and Lani had been up to. He’d rather traverse the pitch-dark garden.
Lani now walked ahead of him, shoulders tight under the fall of hair cascading to her waist.
Just a half hour ago he’d run his fingers though that silken mass and imagined them as partners—husband and wife. That idea had evaporated like the dawn mist, and now she again seemed like a semi-hostile stranger.
When she reached her room, Lani turned and fixed wide, worried eyes on him. “Thank you for helping me run the gauntlet.”
“I don’t know why I did.” He cocked his head. “Obviously I’m a soft touch.”
“You’re not. You’re a man of honor and that’s evident in everything you’ve said and done so far.” Her voice was steady and she leveled a clear gaze at him. “You should be king and it’s a terrible shame if I’ve somehow ruined that.”
Her words stopped his negative thoughts in their tracks. No one cared what Lani really wanted. She was expected to do whatever it took to ease the succession and make life easy for other people. None of this was her idea. What did she have to gain from sleeping with him, let alone marrying him? She’d probably rather be curled up with a good book and some saltines.
“Why did you agree to go along with my mom’s plot to trick me into marrying you even though you’re already pregnant with the heir?”
“She didn’t know I was pregnant when you first came. I didn’t, either. I found out that first night, when I was ill and left dinner early.”
Things started to fall into place.
He frowned when he realized that first passionate kiss had come before she knew about the baby. “So the wheels driving us into marriage were already rolling and you figured it was too late to stop them?”
“Your mom was so excited about you staying. And I liked the idea of my child being able to enjoy being a kid, without the pressure of already being a monarch. On some level the idea made sense, until…”
“Until