Page 130 of The Heir's Bargain

"You snuck into my dreams?" I asked, fear lacing my tongue.

"Is that really what you are concerned about right now?" Terin asked, quirking a brow.

"Yes! No—" I shook my head, digging my fingers into my knotted hair. "Are you telling me that you have known this entire time?"

Terin nodded.

My hands fell limp on my lap. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" Terin asked.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as my brother stared at me, sadness spilling from his countenance.

My gaze fell to the floor, my arms leaning atop my knees. "I promised her I wouldn't say anything," I mumbled.

"It wasn't fake, was it?" Terin asked.

As I returned my attention to my brother, I caught my reflection in the window behind him. My eyes were bloodshot, my complexion ashen.

I swallowed the lump, tearing my gaze from my ragged reflection. "I'm not sure if it ever was truly fake, Ter."

Chapter 35

DANI

Crack.

Sharp needles ran down my spine, and I jolted up as the air shifted around me.

But it was too late.

We were surrounded.

Chapter 36

FYNN

After two days of sulking with Terin, my brother finally had had enough and forced me to return home.

The day we returned was also the day I would typically head off to The Splintered Oar to meet Dani and her friends—which must have been precisely why Terin dragged me to the Wilton's manor before I could argue.

As I sat in the marble billiards room, all I could think about was that old, musty tavern. I missed the music, the drunken patrons, the old barkeeper and his wife. Coming to this manor, playing cards with Riley and Lukas, and drinking whiskey from crystal glasses were all things I had done before Dani and I.

I realized then that time was a strange thing. Our lives were split into a series of before's and after's.

For a long time, I thought you only experienced one of those moments in your lifetime. And for me, I believed that the night of the attack was the moment that defined the rest of my life. I had thought it was the single moment that would mark my life for the rest of my days.

But this moment between Dani and me? Something about it felt life-altering, even though our courtship only lasted a few months.

Maybe that was why the liquor went down quicker as the night wore on.

Crack.

I jolted up as Terin's hand slapped against the table, his chair scratching against the oak floors as he reached for me. He held out his hand, waiting for me. I stumbled forward, nearly missing his hand as the floor beneath me wobbled.

Or was that me?

Either way, I shrugged it off and picked up my glass. I swirled the remaining droplets of amber liquid, then tossed the drink back before calling Jorian over for a refill.

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