Almost his Mrs.
Tonight felt wrong as Tani approached the veil, there was music in the air.
Not the hush that usually greeted her when she crossed into the Veil to her lovers bed.
This felt ceremonial.
Tani slowed, her breath catching as she took in her surroundings.
Rows of candles. White flowers. Silk ribbons swaying gently as if stirred by a breath she couldn’t feel.
She was attending a wedding, her wedding.
Her heart stuttered as she found herself walking down the aisle.She didn’t remember choosing a dress, nor agreeing to this. And yet her feet carried her forward as if the choice had already been made.
She lifted her gaze.
Luca Rhezan stood waiting for her at the far end of the aisle.
Her lover.
Dark-haired. Composed. Devastatingly controlled. He wore his power the way other men wore clothes, effortlessly, without apology. When their eyes met, warmth bloomed painfully in her chest, sharp enough to steal her breath.
“Hi Love,” she breathed nervously at loss for what to say.
Luca’s gaze softened the moment he saw her hesitate.
“You sound nervous,” he murmured. “Having second thoughts?”
She shook her head, forcing a smile laced with doubts and insecurities.
Luca leaned closer, oblivious to all her ramblings within. He then lowered his voice as if the world might overhear them, totally unaware of a gaze in their direction amongst others, sharp with malicious intent, patient and cold.
“You’re too quiet,” he murmured. “Don’t think too much.”
She smiled, shaky. “I was just wondering if this is all real, It feels so surreal.”
His brow creased. “Does it not feel real to you, my love?”
“It does,” she lied. “Because if it is… I don’t want to wake up.”
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes. “Then don’t,” he said. “Stay. With me.”
Instead of voicing her doubts, she only said, “ Tempting."
Just then a glass was pressed into their hands. It was Champagne, pale gold and it seemed innocent.
“To the bride and groom!” someone toasted from the high table.
The crowd echoed it. Glasses clinked.
Luca raised his own glass, his gaze never leaving hers.
“I can’t wait to call you my wife.” He whispered into her ears.
She smiled, drank and what followed after wasted no time.
The fire tore down her throat rapidly, stealing her breath, as the glass slipped from her fingers and shattered at her feet.
Luca’s smile vanished instantly. “Tani?” He called with worry, he still tried to masquerade as she clawed at her chest.
“Something’s wrong,” he said, hands on her shoulders now. “Talk to me.” He commanded.
Poison screamed through her mind, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came forth.
“Stay with me,” Luca said, still trying to suppress the apprehension he was feeling.
Tani already felt herself slipping, pulled backward by something vast and dark.
In that instant, the light drained from the room and color from his face, knowing the inevitability of what was about to happen.
He quickly leaned closer and whispered into her ears. “I’ll find you, I swear it. No matter how many lifetimes it takes.”
Then the darkness enveloped her completely.
She woke up gasping in the dark, lungs burning, hands tangled in her thin sheets, the taste of poisoned champagne still on her tongue.
The narrow walls of her room loomed above her, the smell of yeast and exhaustion grounding her, cruel and familiar. A constant reminder of a life that demanded everything and gave nothing back.
Her alarm clock glowed red. Five a.m. Exactly as her instincts had predicted.
She sat up slowly, heart pounding out of rhythm, throat aching as if the poison had followed her out of sleep.
She was alive. The certainty brought no comfort.
He was never meant to be hers. She'd learned that lesson every morning he left before sunrise, always at five, without fail. Still she waited for him every night, no matter how tired she was, no matter how the exhaustion clung to her bones.
Some love wasn't about possession. It was about survival.
He belonged to her only by presence, never by promise. She'd made peace with that. But the wedding lingered, sharp and unshakable. Someone had poisoned her. Someone who believed she had no right to him.
The rain began, tapping against the window, steady and real. Words fogged the glass from the outside, written in quick, slanted strokes.
Almost time.
Her breath caught. She blinked, and the words were gone, only her own tired reflection staring back.
She didn't second-guess herself. She knew what she'd seen.
Somewhere behind the Veil, a promise had been made. Somewhere in the waking world, the man who'd watched her die was no longer content to let their dalliance stay a dream.
The city stirred below her window, oblivious to the chaos in her room, oblivious to the quiet repetition of days about to break open.
For the first time, Tani Zahani wondered if waking to her reality might be worse than dying in her dreams, totally unaware that fate had already begun closing the distance between them.
