A Vow Of Hate

“Like you do?” she shot back.

“You’re my wife,” I said blandly. “I can do whatever I want but I won’t give anyone else the opportunity to do the same.”

“So, you’ll protect me from the vultures?” And now she was mocking me. How brave of her.

“I’ll protect you from the vultures and once we are alone–”

Julianna cut me off. “You’ll go back to hating me, I know.”

I clucked my tongue at her, a grin spreading across my face. “Glad we’re on the same page, Beasty.”

“A protector with bitter words and a callous heart. I guess I can’t be too picky.”

“We’re married. It’s not like you have a choice anymore.”

And that was it. The rest of our dinner happened in silence. Dessert came next and that was also eaten without a word between us.

Eventually, our plates were cleared away and instead of leaving the table, I stayed seated. So did Julianna. “Killian,” she breathed my name and I waited.

She seemed to want to say something, but was holding herself back.

While the vase hid her face from me, I still caught a glimpse of the scarred side of her face from behind the flowers. The skin was stretched tightly, almost painfully over her bones, with jagged lines running down her cheeks. With all the money she had at her disposal, it made me wonder why she never tried plastic surgery.

Fuck, she could have had a whole new face if she wanted.

And yet, she only wore a thin veil.

It made me curious as to why…

Julianna didn’t seem like someone who was self-unconscious of her scars, but then, why the black veil?

“Go ahead, speak your mind.” I gave her the push she needed and gestured for her to speak.

I saw Julianna’s hand flutter over her face and I realized that she was pinning her veil back in place. Julianna stood up and my eyes roamed the length of her. Black hair in a messy bun, her black veil and this evening, she had chosen a navy-blue gown with a diamond choker around her throat.

She took a deep breath and I watched as she debated with herself, to speak or to not speak her mind.

Her fingers fluttered over the veil and then her throat. Her nervousness was practically seeping through her actions and this was exactly why the high society would chew her up and spit her out. If she was lucky enough, they’d drag her through the dirt for a few months and then move to the next weakling. Or if she was unfortunate, Julianna would never be able to face these people again.

She wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

And I couldn’t allow that.

Especially not when the Spencer’s reputation was at risk. My wife would have to hold her own and I would have to be her shield, while they threw stones at her.

A protector.

To the woman who broke my heart.

How ironic.

“For what it’s worth, I know you don’t care for my apologies, but I’m sorry,” Julianna finally spoke, her voice considerably soft, I almost missed her words.

I blinked.

It took a second for her words to register in my brain and then it came crashing down on me. Confused, I only stared at Julianna for a moment.

She apologized, yes.

But it was something else that nagged me…

With her apologies, she had poked what seemed like a distant memory, triggering me into remembering my dream.

Last night.

I had dreamed of Gracelynn.

Kissing her.

Breathing her.

Touching her.

The dream had been so vivid, but it was always like that whenever her ghost visited me in my nightmares.

But it had been a long time since I dreamed of Gracelynn like that. So close, I swore I smelled her perfume. So fucking close, her skin had felt real under my tingling fingertips.

Her whisper… her voice…

In my dream, she had apologized. “I’m sorry.”

I had been too drugged last night to make sense of the dream, and when I woke up in the morning, I buried the memories in the back of my mind, refusing to delve into them.

But now that I thought of it, it wasn’t Gracelynn’s voice in my ears.

My breath slammed into my throat, as realization dawned on me.

It was Julianna’s voice in my dream.

It had been her apologizing and…

The kiss.

That dream wasn’t a dream, after all.

My head snapped toward her as she started to walk away, leaving me at the table as if she hadn’t been in my room last night… as if she hadn’t invaded my dreams and stole kisses that didn’t belong to her.

Fury simmered underneath my skin, lava coursing through my veins. How fucking dared she?

Julianna

I closed the door behind me, not even bothering to lock it, and practically crumpled on my bed. Killian didn’t care that I apologized. I knew he wouldn’t accept my apology but I hadn’t expected the look of pure rage on his face. Indifference, yes. Another insult, yes. Maybe him taunting me with his casual drawl but not… such crazed fury.