Chapter 16 The Wife They Don’t Know
LEITANA
The moment I stepped out of the car, the rush of noise hit me—too loud, too bright, almost blinding. But what kept me steady was the hand gripping my damp one. I looked down at my small fingers swallowed completely by his larger, warm ones, and somehow… I felt calm. Protected. Like nothing in this wild crowd could touch me as long as he held on.
“Mr. Ashbourne, over here!” someone shouted from the left. I blinked against the glaring lights, trying to make out the blur of faces.
More bright flashes burst in my direction, making me squeeze my eyes shut for a second.
“Mr. Ashbourne, is that your wife? Is it true you married the daughter of the Hayes—the famous Avery Hayes?” another voice yelled.
“Mrs. Ashbourne, look this way!”
“Why was the wedding rushed? No major media outlet covered it!”
Everywhere I turned, there were cameras, microphones, people leaning forward with desperate curiosity. My eyes widened. This wasn’t the quiet church halls back home in Vanuatu, or the orphanage, or even the busy markets I’d once wandered.
This… this was something else entirely.
“Is it true? Are you married to Avery Hayes?” another reporter demanded.
“Mrs. Ashbourne! Over here!”
“Was it an arranged marriage?”
The questions came so fast they tangled in my brain. Avery? They all thought I was Avery? I must truly look like my twin sister. I only wish I could see her.
They don’t even know I exist.
Ravial didn’t answer a single question. He didn’t even turn his head in their direction. He simply walked forward with that same calm, confident stride—blindfold firmly in place—as if the entire world was moving around him, not the other way around. The cameras followed him like he was gravity itself.
And he didn’t need eyes to command a room.
I clung to his arm, trembling and amazed all at once. Every step past the reporters, past the flashes, past the gasps and whispers, felt unreal. My heart thudded from a mix of fear and… awe.
Who was this man who didn’t speak, yet made everyone hush without trying?
“Ravial…” I whispered, barely hearing my own voice over the noise. “What kind of ball is this? Why we come here?”
He didn’t glance my way, just guided me forward with a steady hand. “A gathering,” he replied. “A celebration. Important people. Celebrities. CEOs. Influential families. They’ll all be here tonight.”
I swallowed. Hard.
The massive building loomed ahead—white stone, huge terraces, gardens spilling with flowers and glowing lanterns. Fountains sparkled under moonlight. My heart leapt to my throat. I had never seen anything like it.
Guests floated around us in shimmering gowns and sleek suits, their eyes catching on Ravial… and then on me. Their murmurs brushed my skin like wind. I felt small. Out of place. But also… strangely alive.
“People… they will know, ah?” I whispered, unsure if he could hear me.
He tilted his head just enough for his voice to reach me, low and calm. “They know only what I allow them to know. That is all that matters, little lamb.”
My cheeks warmed. My heart beat faster. This entire place felt too big, too bright, too rich for someone like me—but walking beside him… I didn’t feel as lost.
Questions bubbled up inside me. Who were these people? Why was I here? What did tonight mean?
And most of all… why did I want, so badly, to see the face behind Ravial’s blindfold?
I shook off the thought. I could never ask him. There had to be a reason he hid his eyes—an important one. But maybe… maybe one day he would trust me enough to show me.
Then a mocking voice slithered through my mind:
Ha! You really think a man like him would trust you? You don’t belong in his world. You’re nothing.
I bit down on my lip, lifted my chin, and whispered back to the doubt,
“Why not? Am I not his wife?”
The voice laughed. “His wife? It seems you’ve really started to believe that. Do you think he wants you? He wanted Avery—your amazing, better sister—but he was tricked into having you. And now that he knows you’re not Avery, he’s going to toss you aside and send you back to that wretched place you came from.”
Those words shouldn’t get to me. It was just the devil trying to rile me up. I wouldn’t let him. I had prayed to Papa God before coming here, and I had heard His voice clearly. He told me to come. These were His plans for me.
“If I must leave one day… then so be it.”
“You’re really stupid, Letiana. Do you think your so called Papa God actually gave you permission? Or did your own mind make up a reply because you were secretly hoping to leave the orphanage behind? The convent? Vanuatu? Or maybe something else spoke to you, and you couldn’t tell Papa God’s voice from something worldly… carnal… lustful for the things of the world.”
It hit like a slap. My eyes went wide.
No. No, that was a lie. I knew the Lord’s voice. I would never confuse His voice with a demon’s. Something unholy.
NEVER.
“Get behind me, yu devil,” I muttered under my breath, my heart pounding.
Then he spoke.
“What did you just say?”
My head snappe
d up. Ravial was staring at me with a strange look. And that’s when I realized…