Chapter 25: Give a Name
Naomi froze.
What? This was unexpected.
Suspicion crept into her mind. After all, she was married to him now, right? She had every right to speak her mind, didn’t she? She wasn’t trapped—not anymore. With a deep breath, she gathered her courage, her voice calm yet carrying an undertone of something heavier.
"Why are you doing all this?" she asked, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "This isn’t normal. We... we barely know each other."
She could feel the words linger in the air between them, an unspoken question. The confusion, the hesitation, and the unease—everything she’d been feeling since this whirlwind arrangement began—was captured in that simple question. Her eyes searched his face, but he remained unreadable.
Zylan chuckled, his voice low but smooth, with an intensity that felt almost too focused on her. "Such a smart one," he said, his eyes glinting with something she couldn’t quite decipher.
Naomi felt a flicker of irritation. Smart? Was he being sarcastic? Or was he mocking her intelligence? She couldn’t tell. His expression remained the same: calm, aloof, with that hint of amusement lingering in the curve of his lips. Her brow furrowed, and she clenched her fists slightly. There was something about the way he looked at her, as if he was seeing right through her. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
Her glare met his, and her heart raced with a mixture of frustration and confusion. Why couldn’t she figure him out? He was so different from anyone she had ever met, and his calm amusement only deepened her suspicion. To him, she probably looked like a child throwing a tantrum, a kitten hissing over spilt milk.
The silence stretched, heavy with the tension that seemed to grow thicker with each second. Naomi finally tore her gaze away, staring out the window as a wave of discomfort washed over her. The gown she was wearing felt tighter, the fabric clinging to her in ways that made her feel trapped. Beautiful as it was, it did nothing to ease her sense of unease.
Where are we going? she wondered, watching the city lights blur past the window. The uncertainty made the drive feel endless, each passing second filled with a thousand questions she couldn’t bring herself to ask. Finally, as if sensing her discomfort, Zylan signaled to the chauffeur. The car slowed, pulling to a stop in front of an unfamiliar building.
Naomi blinked, her attention caught as the door was opened. A pair of women stood outside, their expressions warm yet somehow unreadable, as though they were welcoming her into an unknown world. She hesitated, glancing back at Zylan, who merely gestured toward the women.