“I went to see her father. I was told by his housekeeper that he was unavailable. I went to see Fayette. She met me at the door, all smiles when she thought I was there to see her. When I asked her questions about Brielle, she nearly slammed the door in my face after telling me her sister had disgraced the family by running off with a non-rider from another country and no one had heard from her. I could hear she was lying, but I also knew she wouldn’t tell me anything. I left and returned to the States.”
“Were you angry with Brielle?” Stefano’s voice was very quiet.
There was silence in the room. The clock ticked. Stefano had dropped that question in very seamlessly as if it was just like any of the other questions. Why would he think Elie would be angry?
“I should have added, and are you still angry with her?”
Elie knew he should have answered immediately instead of hesitating. The knots in his belly tightened. He fucking wasn’t going to give her up. She was sitting right next to him, the scent of her filling his lungs, making him crazy. If he could take back one thing in his life, roll back one single mistake, he would go back in time, muzzle the arrogant ass he used to be, and instead of insulting and rejecting Brielle, he’d marry her on the spot.
“Yes, I was angry with her. Brielle was condemning me to live with a woman I would never really love fully, even if I came to respect and admire her. That woman would always know, deep down, I didn’t love her. My shadow crossed hers in Jean-Claude’s sitting room, and even if she hadn’t known all those times before when she was too young that she was supposed to be mine, she knew it then—right that moment, but she walked away from us without even hearing me out when I tried a million times to apologize to her.”
For the first time, he turned his head and looked at her. She blinked, those long lashes sweeping down and then up so he was looking straight into her green gaze. He wanted her to see him this time when he answered. Really see him. He wasn’t a boy anymore. He was a grown man, hardened over time by the things he’d seen and done.
“Yes, Stefano, I’m still angry with her. She could have resolved this issue years ago by simply having a conversation with me. Shadow riders hear lies. Over the years, growing up in her household, she had to have caught Fayette in countless lies. When her sister lied about being with me at the clubs, she had to have heard those lies, but she chose to believe them.” He switched his gaze to Stefano. “So, yes, I’m still angry. Does that mean I want to give up the woman I’m meant to spend my life with? No, absolutely not. I will not let her out of our marriage contract.”
Stefano inclined his head. “I understand. I would feel the same. Do you have other concerns or questions?”
“Yes. When I was first told about Brielle, Jean-Claude made it clear she had washed out of the shadow rider program, and yet on her résumé, it clearly states she is a rider.”
Stefano nodded. “Brielle, that’s true. I was given your performances and times. I was told you were willing to be added to our roster and would take rotations as long as you worked alone. How is it you didn’t cut it in the program, and yet in looking over your training performances both before you left the program and again during your second training, you excelled?”
“No one cut me from the program,” Brielle admitted. “I left the program voluntarily. I asked to be removed. My sister was an excellent rider and I felt she would more than make up for my pitiful abilities. Or lack of abilities.”
“Your sister had virtually no abilities,” Stefano corrected. “She couldn’t find her way out of a paper bag. She had no interest in learning. She was very entitled.”
“That’s not true.” Brielle shook her head. “My parents constantly praised her and told her how amazing she was. They told me her times in the shadows beat every one she competed against.”
“She came in dead last every single time,” Stefano said. “I’ve got all the reports. You’re welcome to see them. The trainers’ comments are available in the reports. Just to make it clear as well, she put in applications at all the fashion houses to work in any capacity as a model, but was never hired. She didn’t have offers she turned down repeatedly. I believe you were subjected to lies from such an early age by your parents and sister, you got to a point you couldn’t tell the lies from the truth when you heard it. Is that what happened? You couldn’t tell when your sister lied to you?”
Brielle pressed her hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes. “I don’t know. Not at first. Not for most of my life. It wasn’t until she was so desperate to marry Elie that I began to suspect she was lying about some things. I didn’t know what those things were. Some of the things she said and did weren’t making any sense at all. It all got so tangled, and when I’d start to question her, she’d get hysterical and our father would come and he’d be angry with me for upsetting her. She was so fragile, going through so much, missing our mother. Trying to take care of the household and work her rotations as a shadow rider.”
“She didn’t work as a shadow rider,” Stefano said. “That was why she was never considered for marriage with an Archambault. You may have requested to leave the program, but your times were unmatched. Your ability to find your way in any circumstance was astonishing. You were good with weapons and excelled at hand-to-hand combat. The Archambaults had been watching you for some time. You volunteered where you were needed quietly, never making a big deal out of what you did to help others. You’re intelligent and compassionate and they felt they’d found a perfect match for Elie, especially considering his interest in you.”
“Why did you request to leave the program?” Elie asked her directly.
She stiffened. “Do I have to answer that question?”
“I was going to ask it myself,” Stefano said, “but yes, he has the right to ask any questions, just as you have the right to ask him what you want to know.”
Brielle remained silent for so long, Elie was certain she was going to defy Stefano and not answer, but eventually she twisted her fingers together until they were white. “It makes me sick when I’m in the shadows. I can force myself to overcome it, but I thought, since my sister could represent our family, I wouldn’t need to force myself to keep going in. I was afraid if my team leader sent me in with a partner, I might compromise them.”
“Yet you decided to train again,” Stefano persisted. “Why?”
Elie was nearly a full head and shoulders above his new wife. It was easy enough to see her sneak a quick glance his way. She was extremely uncomfortable answering these questions in front of him.
“I wanted to change who I was. I felt like a child afraid of life when I left for Spain. I didn’t want to be that person anymore. Although it was hurtful, I was used to rejection from my father and sister. Even the things Elie said about my looks were nothing that hadn’t been said before. The difference was, I decided to do something about it. I decided since I was going to Spain, I could have a brand-new beginning and explore the things I was interested in.”
“Why would you want to look like a fragile twig a man could snap in half when you had the perfect body with real curves, Brielle?” Elie demanded. “Fayette is not a beautiful woman. She looks like a coat hanger.”
“Like the models you have hanging on your arm all the time?” Brielle retaliated.
“I don’t date models,” Elie hissed, his voice lower than ever, a bad sign with him. Anyone who knew him well would recognize the signs in him. “If you had bothered to keep in touch instead of holding on to a grievance that happened years ago, you would have known. I’m not the only one to blame here, Brielle. By holding on to your anger at me, you would have condemned four people to a lifetime of misery.”
“I wasn’t holding on to a grievance over your comment on my weight, Elie. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t heard it all my life. Don’t think you were that important. I went to Spain because I wanted to change my life and do whatever the hell I wanted to do for myself. Not you. Not my family. For me.”
Elie had to admit, he was rather proud of her for that, even if it had been too fucking long for them to be apart.
Stefano held up his hand. “We are going to finish this very important conversation about shadow riding before getting into anything else. I send out the riders in Chicago, Brielle. If you were to join the roster, I would have to know you were fit. Your times are impressive. You certainly look as if you would be a huge asset to us. You asked to be trained by the riders in Spain and they agreed after looking at your training records and consulting with the council. You never disclosed to anyone that you quit because being in the shadows made you ill, did you?”