Aneira couldn't quite put into words what she was feeling.
She stared down at the half-finished plate of food in front of her, but her mind was far from it. Her thoughts swirled in a blur of emotions, soft and heavy, yet carrying the weight of confusion, guilt, and something dangerously close to longing.
She remembered the things she had told Jaxton just a day after their wedding. The sharpness of her words. How she had looked him in the eye and accused him of marrying her for some selfish reason… anything but kindness.
Back then, she thought she was just his prey and that no one like Jaxton Haydra, powerful, calculated, respected would marry someone like her unless he had something to gain.
And yet…
