Chapter 47

Vivianna.

She wasn’t just a rumor anymore. She wasn’t just a shadow whispered about in the halls.

She was here.

In the flesh.

I cut a glance at Tristan.

His face was carved in stone, unreadable and expressionless.

But I saw it. A flicker.

A tightness around his mouth, a narrowing of his gaze.

The staff who had been whispering before were now blatantly staring, their curiosity thick enough to choke on.

I caught one of the maids’ eyes, saw the faint smirk tug at her lips, as though my world unraveling was a spectacle to be enjoyed.

Tristan dismissed Darius with a sharp nod. “Double the patrols along the borders. If she’s here, I’ll not have her slipping past unseen. This time, I want you to oversee the guards, make sure nothing gets past you.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Darius bowed again and hurried off, his footsteps fading into the silence he left behind.

I remained rooted in place, unable to move.

Viviana.

Her name felt like a curse and a prayer all rolled into one.

The woman Tristan's heart beats for.

The woman he had wanted before fate shackled him to me.

The woman who was supposed to be here and by his side.

I had always known this was temporary, that she would be back but in the lady couple of days, I had forgotten about that.

But now she was close.

Seen. Real.

And I?

I was standing here, invisible even when in plain sight, the bond between Tristan and me unraveling bit by bit.

My chest burned with something sharp and ugly, something I didn’t want to name.

Jealousy? Fear?

Both, it seems.

Tristan turned slightly then, his gaze sweeping the courtyard, and for one brief, horrifying second, I thought he’d seen me. But his eyes slid past without pause, already calculating, already preparing.

For her arrival.

I don't know why but the way he ignored me cut deeper than I expected.

I finally forced myself to move, slipping away from the pillar, from the courtyard, from the prying eyes of the staff who were already buzzing like flies around fresh gossip.

My feet carried me back toward the quiet of the halls, though nothing inside me felt quiet at all.

I had thought my greatest threat was Keiran and the pull I felt toward him. But as Tristan’s unreadable eyes lingered in my mind, I realized I might have been wrong.

It was her.

The faint yet tangible threat of her being back made me face a truth…one that was buried down.

I had grown attached to this place and now….it might just get snatched away from me.

Viviana wasn’t just a name.

She was a living, breathing reminder that I had never been what Tristan wanted.

And now she was back.

Only one questions remains….why would happen to me if she decides to come back here?

Isla

I had barely left the hall when the words I’d overheard refused to leave me alone.

Darius’s muttered words, Tristan’s measured tone, and above all, the name that had set my chest aflame…..Vivianna.

Her name tasted bitter even in thought.

I paced my chamber for nearly an hour, trying to calm myself, but the restlessness only grew sharper.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore, my thoughts running wild in my head.

My feet carried me before my mind could stop them, down the corridor toward Tristan’s office.

I just needed to let the words out before they consumed me.

When I got there, I didn’t have the patience to knock so I pushed the door open.

He was at his desk, bent over papers, reading glasses perched on his nose.

His head snapped up at the sound of the door hitting the wall, his dark eyes flashing surprise. “Isla?”

I shut the door behind me, my pulse hammering. “Hi. We need to talk.”

Tristan set his glasses down slowly, folding them up carefully, as if preparing himself. “What about?”

I stepped closer, my voice trembling not from fear but from the storm that was raging inside me. “About what you and Darius were discussing. About her.”

He leaned back in his chair, jaw tightening, taken by surprise at what I said. “You were eavesdropping?”

“No, I was walking by,” I shot back. “And you weren’t exactly whispering.” My arms crossed over my chest, nails digging into my sleeves. “So tell me, Tristan. Actually, can I ask if you're ever going to tell me that she was coming back or that she's been sighted around the borders? Tell me why Vivianna’s return suddenly matters enough to be discussed in hushed voices.”

“It was mostly hearsay and rumors.” He replied coolly. “I didn't think you needed to know about that.”

“Right.” I kept talking despite how I felt. “So what if she just walked up to the gates tomorrow morning? Did you even think about how I would feel if that were to happen?”

His silence was answer enough.

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even bother to act like it mattered to him.

The quiet stretched until I couldn’t stand it. “You should’ve told me. You should’ve come to me first before anyone else. After all, I’m your mate, Tristan.”

“Exactly,” he said, finally rising from behind the desk.

His height and presence filled the space, but I refused to feel intimidated. “Which is why I’m trying to keep certain matters from tearing you apart. I don’t want you burdened.”

The words might’ve sounded protective to anyone else, but to me, they were a slap.

Burdened?

Tristan barely considers my feelings, and all of a sudden, that's what is most important to him? I don't think so.

“So, what? You’d rather I find out by accident, like I just did? You think hiding things is protecting me?”

His hands curled into fists at his sides. “You wouldn’t understand the weight of what Viviana’s return could mean. The alliances, the threats-”

“Don’t you dare reduce me to someone too fragile to understand politics,” I snapped, filling the anger bubble up.

My voice cracked on the last word, but I didn’t care. “I’ve endured betrayal, backstabbing, and lies… I’ve even endured you, so I'm much tougher than you think.”

When those words left my mouth, I realized that I might have said more than I intended to.

That flickered something in his gaze. Hurt. Anger. Something darker.