Page 58 of Hidden Echoes

So, as crazy as this seems, given the whole rushed-marriage incident... I’m going to keep her like that.

As my wife.

CHAPTER 14

ZANE

I lean against the wall of the apartment, frustration weighing me down like a dull ache I can’t shake.

Mia is sitting cross-legged on the couch, barefoot, her entire focus on coloring one of my old sketches. She holds the colored pencil so carefully, as if this is some delicate, personal mission. Like it matters. Like it means something.

I watch her, trying to formulate words, but what the hell am I even supposed to say?

Hey, so. I was a complete idiot who not only ran you over but also somehow married you, and now you don’t really know what this marriage means for us. Hell, I don’t either. We never talked about it, but I can’t give you a serious marriage.

Yeah, that sounds ridiculous even in my own head.

I should just cancel this. End it now, before it spirals even further into something neither of us can handle.

“Husband, how did it turn out?” she asks, lifting her head with a bright smile, holding up the drawing for me to see.

Her smile is the kind that sneaks up on you, soft and unguarded, like the first rays of sunlight slipping through the cracks of a closed window.

It’s not just on her lips—it’s in her whole face, in the way her eyes crinkle at the corners, in the quiet, satisfied glow that lingers as if she’s found pure contentment in something so simple.

She looks so pleased with herself, so effortlessly happy, that it knocks the breath right out of me.

And just like that, I melt.

“It looks beautiful, Mia,” I say, my voice softer than I intended. “You should use the glitter pens we bought yesterday.”

Her eyes widen with excitement. “You’re right! I love having a smart husband.”

Figaro, the tuxedo cat, sits perched on the armrest, watching me with those sharp, judgmental eyes. And damn if I don’t feel the weight of his silent critique.

I can almost hear him: So, when exactly are you going to tell her the truth?

But I don’t. I can’t.

Because I can’t annul this marriage.

She looks so damn happy.

And then it hits me.

Mia doesn’t understand what marriage really is.

How could she? She spent her whole life locked away, her world a cage made of control and obedience. She was forced into things she never wanted. Never asked for.

A lump rises in my throat, thick and suffocating.

And maybe there’s also the small fact that I don’t want to divorce her… for reasons I can’t even begin to explain.

Yeah. That too.

Who am I kidding? She’s beautiful. She’s kind. She sees the world in colors I don’t even recognize anymore. Where I see scars, she sees stories. Where I see tragedy, she finds something worth smiling about.

It’s too easy with her. Too natural.Like breathing.

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