The thunderous slam of the door as he left his room with Raellyn echoed like a gunshot in Arnav’s chest. Startling him more than he cared to admit. For a brief second, a wave of guilt washed over him but as quickly as it came, his pride crushed it. He let his ego take the reins again.
He made his way to the library, which doubled as his study a fortress of silence where whiskey was his most loyal companion.
Then he poured himself a drink with steady hands that betrayed nothing. Yet the moment he took that first sip, the bitterness of the alcohol wasn’t enough to drown the truth. The moment with Raellyn earlier had rattled something within him. He had let himself forget.
Forget that this marriage wasn’t born of love. Raellyn had her ambition. He had his pleasures to indulge in whatever
