The music pulsed around her, deep, rhythmic and relentless but it kind of felt distant, like it was happening in another room entirely. She leaned her head against the cold leather of the chair.
Her mind drifted back, uninvited, to what she had seen earlier.
Zade and the woman. The way the lady's body had moved against his without hesitation.
Surprisingly, it didn’t sting.
There was no sharp twist in her chest, no rush of jealousy, no hollow ache she had once imagined such moments were supposed to bring. If anything, the thought passed through her mind with detached clarity.
Why should it bother me?
This wasn’t a marriage built on affection or loyalty. It was a contract. A calculated agreement between two powerful families, designed to protect interests, stabilize empires, and secure
