Page 137 of The Hunter's Empire

"Zora…"

"No." I cut him off before he can continue. "Not once."

I shake my head. "You didn't mention it once."

"This isn't the place."

I smile sadly. "There's never a place with you."

"I was trying to…"

"What?" I interrupt again. "Protect me? Respect my engagement? Pretend it didn't matter?"

His jaw tightens. "It mattered."

"Then why did you act like it didn't?"

He doesn't answer.

Around us, the music continues. Couples spin beneath the chandeliers while applause breaks out somewhere near the other end of the ballroom.

No one notices the silence growing heavier between us.

"I spent days wondering if I'd imagined it." I admit quietly. "Then I convinced myself maybe you regretted it."

"I didn't." His answer comes immediately.

I search his face. "Then why pretend it never happened?"

He looks away for the first time all evening. "I didn't know what I was allowed to want."

The honesty catches me completely off guard. For one fragile moment, neither of us moves. The music continues around us as though nothing has changed, other couples swaying across the dance floor while the orchestra carries the melody effortlessly through the ballroom. Then my eyes drift downward.

The diamond on my left hand catches the light. And the reality crashes back all at once.

I gently slip my hand from his shoulder and take a step back. My pulse pounds loudly enough that I'm convinced he can hear it.

"I need some air."

His expression shifts, as though he wants to say something, but he doesn't. He simply watches me turn away.

I weave through the crowd, murmuring quiet apologies as I brush past unfamiliar guests. The laughter and music grow fainter with every step until I push through the ballroom doors into the corridor beyond. The cool night air drifting through the open archways should calm me.

It doesn't. My thoughts are louder than the orchestra ever was.

I make it halfway down the hallway before I hear footsteps following behind me. They don't hurry to catch me. They don't hesitate either. They're steady, measured, and somehow that only frustrates me more.

"Zora."

I keep walking.

"Zora."

I stop so abruptly my heels scrape softly against the marble floor before turning to face him.

"What?" The word comes out sharper than I intend.

He stops several feet away, giving me enough space that I could leave again if I wanted to. Behind him, the ballroom doors remain closed, the celebration reduced to little more than a distant murmur.