Chapter 21 Sweet Lily
The door opened.
She sat up and her heart jumped.
Dorian stood in the doorway. His silhouette was dark against the light from the hallway. He did not step inside.
"I owe you an apology," he said.
She said nothing.
"I shouldn’t have choked you." His voice was low. Rough. "I lost control. I saw my grandmother on the floor and I thought—I thought you had killed her. And I lost control."
"You did."
"I know." He paused. "It won’t happen again."
She looked at him. The moonlight caught his face. His gray eyes were dark. His jaw was tight. He looked like a man who had been carrying something heavy for a very long time.
"Okay," she said.
He blinked. "Okay?"
"Okay. I accept your apology." She lay back down. "Now close the door. I’m tired."
He did not move.
"Veyra."
"What?"
"I’m sorry." He said it again. Like he needed her to hear it twice. Like he needed to believe it himself.
She looked at the ceiling. "I know."
He stood there for a long moment. Then he stepped back and pulled the door closed.
The room was dark again.
She closed her eyes and waited for sleep.
*
A knock on the door came ten minutes later.
Veyra wiped her eyes. She had not realized she had been crying.
"Come in," she said.
The door opened. A girl stood in the hallway. She was small. Fourteen, maybe. Dark hair with dark eyes. A shy smile that made her look younger than she was.
"Hello," the girl said. Her voice was soft. "I’m sorry to bother you."
"You’re not bothering me." Veyra stood up. "Who are you?"
"My name is Lily." The girl shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I’m Dorian’s niece. His eldest brother’s daughter."
Veyra remembered. The brother who had died. The parents who had left this girl alone in this big, cold family.
"Come in," Veyra said again, softer this time.
Lily stepped into the room and she looked around. At the fire. At the bed. At Veyra’s suitcase by the door.
"I heard you know how to bake," Lily said.
Veyra blinked. "Bake?"
"Yes. Cookies." Lily’s cheeks turned pink. "My grandmother used to bake. Before she died. I never learned. And I thought—I thought maybe you could teach me."
Veyra looked at the girl, at her shy smile and at the loneliness behind her eyes.
"Of course," Veyra said. "I’d love to."
Lily’s face lit up. "Really?"
"Really." Veyra held out her hand. "Come on. Let’s go find a kitchen."
Lily took her hand. Her fingers were small and warm.
They walked out of the room together.
*
*
While Veyra and Lily baked cookies in the kitchen, Dorian sat in the back of a black car driving away from the estate.
The city lights flashed past the window. He did not look at them. He was thinking about her. About the bruise on her throat and about the way she had looked at him when she said I don’t trust you either.
Kaelen was in the passenger seat. His laptop was open. His phone was pressed to his ear. He was coordinating something. Dorian did not ask what.
The car turned onto the highway.
"Sir," Kaelen said, hanging up the phone. "The news of your marriage has been disseminated. Every major outlet has picked it up. Councilman Whitmore has been informed."
Dorian nodded. "Good."
"May I ask why?" Kaelen turned in his seat to look at him. "The councilman was planning to propose a marriage alliance. His daughter. You could have said no without making a public announcement."
"I could have." Dorian looked out the window. "But saying no would have been the end of it. The public announcement sends a message."
"What message?"
"That I’m not available. That I’m not interested. That any attempt to force a marriage alliance will be met with resistance." He paused. "Councilman Whitmore wants my money for his campaign. He thinks he can use his daughter as leverage. I’m showing him that leverage doesn’t work."
Kaelen frowned. "Won’t this offend him? He’s a powerful man. He could make things difficult for the Zeus Group."
"He could try." Dorian’s voice was flat. "But if he moves against me, he pushes me into the arms of his political rivals. He knows that. He won’t risk it."
Kaelen was quiet for a moment. Then he smiled.
"You’ve thought of everything, sir."
"Not everything." Dorian looked out the window. The city was getting closer and the buildings were getting taller. "Some things, I’m still figuring out."
Kaelen hesitated. He glanced at Dorian in the rearview mirror. Then he asked the question that had been on his mind for days.
"Sir," Kaelen said, "why did you specifically choose Veyra to bear your child?"
The car was quiet.
Dorian did not answer immediately. He watched the city pass by, the lights, the buildings and the people walking on the sidewalks.