Page 117 of The Masks She Wore

?Jack opened the car door for me and allowed me in, leaving Mr. Blakley scrambling to get back into the driver’s seat.

?I slid in, swiping the end of my dress in with me before Jack shut the door and walked to the other side, sliding in.

?I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen the Mayor before the masquerade. Francis Strauss. From what I could remember of him, he was a good man, nice, stood for a lot of good things. He had done well for this city, beloved by all, but with everything else going on, I was still on edge. Anything could happen. People could show up with guns, they could poison my drink again, they could take the mayor hostage and force Jack to choose or something far worse.

?We had to be prepared for anything. If he said run, I had to run, no questions asked.

?“Where is Zo this evening?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.

?“On her own assignment,” he answered, locking his phone and sliding it away. “Malachi has her doing some grunt work.”

?“What do you consider grunt work?”

?His eyes found mine, trailing over my body again, heating me up from head to toe. “Another Initiate went rogue, we have to contain it,” he answered, finding the scar on my chest. “Easy.”

?He hadn’t told me a lot about what they did, where they came from, but I knew enough to know that it wasn’t good. It wasn’t the time to ask questions, but I would soon. I wanted to know all about their lives. All about what they did and how they did it, where they traveled. I wanted to know everything.

?“I want you to put this on.”

?I shook the thoughts away and looked down to his outstretched hand to find him holding a little black velvet box.

?My heart skipped a beat, my eyes widening, lips parting. “Is that a ring?” I whispered, a roaring sounding in my ears.

?“You heard what I said, Rae, I want you to put it on.”

?It wasn’t a request, but despite how badly I wanted it on, despite how terribly empty my ring finger suddenly felt, I hesitated. “People are going to ask—”

?“Tell them,” he answered. “Jack Ashrin. Nobody knows my name, and if they do, they know not to say a word about it. Put it on.”

?My mouth had gone dry, my mind was racing. “I’m your…”

?“Wife,” he said tightly, opening up the box, clearly getting impatient with me. “Not my fiancé, mywife.”

?My jaw dropped when he pulled the ring out. Fuck, it was beautiful. Cypress cut white gold ring with a deep blue sapphire set in the center, ringed with smaller white sapphire diamonds. It couldn’t be hidden or overlooked. It was meant to be seen, to scream to the world ‘taken’.

?I held out my trembling left hand and watched as he slid it on. A perfect fit. I released a breath as I held out my hand, admiring it. Wife.

?Mrs. Rae Ashrin.

?My eyes filled, my bottom lip trembling as I found his eyes.

?He was watching me carefully, his eyes searching mine. He lifted his hand, brushing his knuckles under my eye. “No happy tears, we don’t want to ruin your makeup, hmm? Not unless I fuck the tears out of you.”

?I nodded, leaning into his touch. “It’s beautiful, thank you.”

?He searched my eyes, something in his own changing. “I couldn’t imagine anyone better.”

?My heart lifted. As proposals went, this kind of went along with how my life had been since I met him, and it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

?I grabbed his hand and carefully lifted it over my shoulders before scooting over to his side and leaning into him.

?He leaned back, adjusting himself a little to give me a better spot to rest, his body relaxing when I found the perfect groove in his side.

?I stared out his window, his breathing even, quiet. “I would never have said yes to anyone else in all the world,” I told him after a few minutes. And it was true. I couldn’t imagine anyone else being good enough, not like Jack was. Jack was perfect. He was everything I ever wanted.

?I was his wife. His. I belonged to someone. I finally had a family. One that wanted me. I finally had someone.

?We didn’t say anything the rest of the drive. Not until we were a few blocks from the Mayor’s house and my phone chimed.

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