Page 99 of Tarnished Queen

“Please don’t,” she whispers. “This won’t look good. They already think I’m a distraction for you. Maybe we can let it go and—”

“No. This has to be handled now.” I kiss her knuckles again and then wave for the band to stop.

The music cuts out. The room goes eerily quiet. I turn to Makar’s table and watch as the man’s face goes white. “My sincerest apologies for the interruption, everyone. But my wife has been disrespected on our wedding day.”

Muffled whispers move through the room. Makar doesn’t move.

“If you are here as our guests today, it is because we wanted you here. But that invitation comes with the understanding that you support our marriage,” I continue. “More than that, it’s an understanding that you will respect our marriage. If you were paying attention during the ceremony, you heard that marriage is a union. It is a combining of two people into one.” I face Makar, leaving no question who I’m talking to. “I am Belle. Belle is me. You’ll respect us both equally.”

Makar’s jaw shifts like he’s grinding his teeth, but he doesn’t make a move to respond or defend himself.

“And if you can’t do that, then you should get the fuck out now,” I say. “While you still can.”

The room is deadly silent. Everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the fallout.

After a few seconds, it comes.

Slowly, Makar stands up and pushes his chair in. He lifts his chin and moves towards the door, his walk all swagger and confidence. After a beat of hesitation, the two men on either side of him follow.

I keep my eyes on them as they saunter out of the room. The security at the ballroom doors escorts them through the lobby. Only once they’re out of sight do I smile and turn back to the guests.

“Again, my apologies, all. Some business can’t wait.” Then I turn back to Belle. Her face is flushed a deep red, but she holds out her hand for me. I take it in mine and gesture to the band to carry on. They pick up right where they left off, and Belle curls into my body.

“You didn’t have to do that, Nikolai. I could have made things right myself.”

“You make things right with people who deserve it,” I tell her. “Makar doesn’t deserve your time or effort. If we weren’t having such a lovely day, I’d give him what he actually deserves. As it is, I let him walk out with a pulse. Most men don’t get that mercy from me.”

Belle lays her head on my chest and sighs. “Let’s just forget about him and enjoy the rest of the night.”

I kiss the top of her head. “Already done.”

The mood in the room settles and shifts as the song carries on, and for half a song, everything and everyone is in their perfect place.

But just as I’m turning Belle out for the final spin, the speakers cut out.

The band fumbles for a few more confused notes before they give up playing their instruments. I turn to look for the source of the issue, but the DJ just shrugs.

Then loud static cuts through the room, broken up only by a voice.

Belle’s voice.

I turn to her. She’s standing next to me, her mouth hanging open in dumbstruck confusion even as her own voice echoes around the room.

“… I’ll do anything,”Belle’s voice is saying over the speakers with the crackly quality of an audio recording.“But I have to get out of here and as far away from Nikolai as possible.”

29

BELLE

I never thought I’d be terrified by the sound of my own voice, but I’m trembling from head to toe.

The words are coming from everywhere. I keep searching for speakers or something, but it’s like they’re coming out of the walls and rising out of the floor. It’s like they’re speaking inside every cell of my body.

“I’ll do anything. But I have to get out of here and as far away from Nikolai as possible. If you can make that happen, then that is all that matters.”

More static fills the room. A few people cover their ears. Then I—the old me, the stupid me, the me that thought Nikolai was my enemy and Xena was my friend—start talking again.

“I can’t thank you enough for all your help, Xena. You’ve been so good to me and Elise, even after everything… If I’d known Nikolai was engaged to you, I never would have started anything with him. If I’d known who he actually was, I never would have started anything with him. I wish I’d never met him.”

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