Chapter 180

The question slammed into the room violently.

Adele froze completely.

Shock crossed her face first, then horror, and then humiliation. Her entire body stiffened instantly afterward.

Torak regretted asking the moment he saw her expression.

Gods.

He should not have ruined this moment but once he saw the mark, the thought had poisoned everything else.

Adele pulled fully away from him now. “How dare you.”

Torak immediately shook his head. “It wasn’t—”

“How dare you think such of my father?” Her voice cracked sharply across the chamber.

Torak stepped toward her carefully. “Adele, I only meant….”

“No.” She cut him off instantly. The shame inside her eyes hurt worse than tears would have. “It seems I give you entirely too much right.”

Torak’s chest tightened painfully.

She scoffed, as if the mere thought of her father hitting her was ridiculous. “Why would you even ask me something like that?”

Adele’s breathing had become uneven now.

She was wounded beneath her breathing, and Torak could see it. Slowly, he began to understand and that made everything worse somehow.

“Adele,” he tried again quietly, “I saw bruises.”

Her face changed instantly.

For one brief second, pure panic crossed her expression. She inwardly wondered how she didn’t heal quickly, and he ended up seeing it.

The panic vanished beneath her anger again so quickly another man might have missed it entirely.

Torak did not.

“How observant of you.” She mocked.

Torak’s jaw tightened hard. “Adele—”

“You know what?” She nodded quickly. “I curse you.”

Torak froze.

Adele sniffed once suddenly.

That sound shattered him. He doesn’t care about what she just said, but the fact that she just sniffed, about to cry.

This was Adele. She’s proud, sharp-tongued, and beautifully cruel. Adele Blackfen did not cry.

Not in front of people, and definitely not where anyone could witness it. The last time she cried before him, she swore never to do it again.

Yet her eyes had begun shining visibly now.

Torak stared at her helplessly.

“You stand there pretending you respect me,” she whispered shakily, “while saying such bizarre things about my father.”

“I do respect you.”

“No.” Her voice cracked harder this time. “No, you don’t.”

Tears gathered fully in her eyes now despite how violently she fought them. She looked humiliated by her own pain.

Torak took one slow step toward her instinctively.

Adele stepped back immediately. “Stay away.”

The words came out sharp. Terrified almost.

Torak stopped instantly.

Adele turned away from him quickly then.

One trembling hand rose toward her face before stopping halfway there. She looked furious with herself, at him, at the tears, and at the fact that he had seen too much.

“You have no right to look at me like that,” she whispered weakly.

Torak’s chest physically hurts now.

Suddenly, he understood everything. She was never ashamed of him.

Moon Goddess.

He understood. All this time, he thought she looked at him and saw someone beneath her station. However, Adele had only ever looked at him like someone she could never allow herself to keep.

The memory of her stepping back from him when he yelled earlier slammed into Torak all over again.

He now understood why she looked at him like that after he raised his voice. Damn him! How could he be that stupid to yell at her?

Adele did not want pity tonight. She had wanted someone to notice, but never Torak. She couldn’t undo the humiliation she felt now.

Torak swallowed hard. He looked at her trembling mouth, her glassy eyes, and the pride she was still desperately trying to hold together.

“Adele.”

Her shoulders shook faintly once, then immediately stilled again. When she finally looked back at him, tears clung visibly to her lashes now.

And somehow she still looked proud and beautiful.

“You should have let me leave,” she whispered. “I’ll be back before dawn.”

Torak felt everything inside himself break quietly at those words.

Adele stared at him silently after those words.

He felt the sentence settle deep inside his ribs like a blade twisting slowly. He couldn’t do it. Even if he can move past his jealousy, he couldn’t do it.

No matter what, she doesn’t fully know how life out there is. Worse still, she might get the worst experience she never thought of.

Adele looked away from him quickly again.

Her breathing remained uneven while she fought visibly against the tears gathering in her eyes.

Torak could not remember the last time something frightened him this badly. This terrified him. The sight of her close tears terrified him. She was standing at the edge of herself, and he did not know how to pull her back safely.

“Adele…”

She shook her head immediately.

“Torak.” Her voice cracked softly. “Please.”

Far from her sharp, proud, and sarcastic self, her pleading words came out small.

Torak moved before thinking properly. Very carefully, he pulled her into his arms.

Adele stiffened instantly.

Torak wrapped both arms around her slowly afterward. The warmth of her hit him instantly when he held her.

Her breath trembled faintly, and he shut his eyes briefly. He hated whoever taught her that crying made her weak.

Adele’s hands remained trapped stiffly between them at first.

Torak rested his chin lightly against the top of her head.

“Don’t weep,” he whispered softly.

Adele sniffed again.

Torak tightened his arms around her slightly. “I’ll beg, Adele.”

Her breath caught faintly.

“Don’t weep.”

Silence filled the hidden chamber afterward.

Adele pressed her lips together hard, trying to stop them from trembling. If not for herself, for him.

Torak could feel her fighting herself.

“You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” she whispered weakly against his chest.

Torak kissed the center of her head deeply, and hummed. “Like what?”

“I’ll beg.”

Torak’s throat tightened. He meant it. He’d beg her if that was what she wanted to stop herself from crying.

Adele finally lifted one trembling hand slowly before gripping the front of his shirt. That small movement felt more intimate than the kiss.

“You make it difficult,” she admitted quietly.

Torak lowered his head slightly. “Difficult to do what?”

Adele stayed silent for several seconds. “To hate you.” She finally admitted.

Torak exhaled shakily through his nose. He almost smiled. At least, she doesn’t hate him, so that was a win.

His hand slid slowly upward against her back once.

Adele’s eyes closed briefly at the touch.

No one held her like this. Not ever until she got involved with him. People touched Adele Blackfen carefully because she was beautiful, politely because she was noble, and respectfully because her father was feared.

Slowly, one soft tear escaped her eyes.