Chapter 5: Who is she
Liora Hale stood quietly at Dominic Blackwood’s side, yet she felt as though every gaze in the room was fixed on her. Malcolm Blackwood’s stare was sharp, appraising, and openly displeased. He looked her up and down again, as if hoping the elegant young woman before him might suddenly transform into the crude, forgettable figure he remembered approving but she did not.
She stood straight backed and composed, her waist slender beneath her plain dress, her features gentle yet unmistakably refined. There was nothing loud or ostentatious about her beauty only a calm grace that made her impossible to ignore. Malcolm’s expression darkened this certainly was not the woman he had chosen.
Back then, the old patriarch had voiced his concerns bluntly. A sickly heir like Dominic needed a wife who was unobtrusive, someone who would not stir rumors or tempt outsiders. Malcolm had been the one to reassure him. She’s plump, he had said unremarkable. A symbol of fortune and no one would covet her.
Been safe had been the point. Yet the woman before him now was anything but that. “You must be joking, brother,” Malcolm said, his tone edged with irritation. “I personally oversaw the bride selection. Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize her?”
He let out a derisive laugh. “I know the original girl wasn’t much to look at, but that doesn’t mean you can replace her with someone else and call it a marriage especially not on the first day.” The words replace her struck Liora like a slap. So that was it. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a substitute and an interchangeable object. She clenched her fingers, forcing herself to remain calm.
What unsettled her most was Dominic’s silence. Why wasn’t he refuting the claim?
If Malcolm continued pressing the matter, rumors would spread quickly through the Blackwood circle. A sickly heir cheating on his wife would become a scandal ripe for exploitation and Liora would be the first to be cast aside. She leaned down slightly, bringing herself level with Dominic, careful not to draw attention. “What should we do?” she whispered. “He doesn’t believe we’re married.”
Dominic turned his gaze toward her. Behind the mask, his eyes were dark and deep, betraying none of the turmoil such a situation should have caused. There was no panic there no uncertainty only quiet observation. Liora’s heart skipped he’s watching me, the realization crept over her slowly.
If Dominic wanted to settle this, all he needed to do was produce the marriage certificate. The thought came unbidden and just as quickly, she dismissed it. He wasn’t incapable.
Which meant he was choosing not to did he want her to prove it instead?
Her thoughts spun, how am I supposed to prove we’re married?
A public declaration would not suffice, Malcolm would dismiss words as lies. Documents could be questioned only one thing could not. Her pulse quickened and Dominic noticed the subtle shift in her breathing, the way her brows knit briefly before smoothing again. He watched understanding dawn in her eyes and felt an unexpected spark of interest.
This woman, forced into marriage, cornered by circumstance… yet she did not retreat. Then she moved, before any hesitation could take root, Liora reached up, tugged down Dominic’s mask, and kissed him. Her lips were soft, warm, trembling just slightly.
It was not a practiced kiss. There was no seduction in it only resolve. The contact lasted barely a second, yet it echoed through the room like a thunderclap. “Is this proof enough?” she asked quietly, lifting her gaze to his.
Dominic went stil and for the first time since the wedding, something genuine crossed his face surprise. He had intended to test her composure, perhaps push her to desperation.
Instead, she had chosen boldness. “Yes,” he said, after a brief pause. “It is.”
Malcolm recoiled as if burned, his gaze slid to Dominic’s exposed face and the disfiguring scars beneath the mask. A look of open disgust crossed his features as he raised a hand to shield his eyes. “Tch,” he scoffed. “That hardly proves anything. A kiss doesn’t make a woman your wife.”
His eyes flicked to Liora, sharp and leering.
“If I took her to bed, would that make her mine too? Would I get to call her my sister-in-law then?”
The air shifted and Liora felt it instantly. Dominic’s fingers tightened around her hand not painfully, but with unmistakable authority.
“What did you say, Malcolm?” he asked.
His voice was low, calm and dangerous. Mr. Lawrence, standing nearby, stiffened. He had served the Blackwood family for decades long enough to recognize that tone. Without waiting for orders, he stepped forward, seized the knife Liora had earlier discarded, and caught Malcolm’s arm in a vice-like grip.
“You’re bold,” Mr. Lawrence growled. “Too bold.”
The cold edge of the blade pressed close.
“Disrespecting my young master’s wife? Are you trying to lose this arm?”
Malcolm’s pupils shrank. “I was joking,” he snapped quickly. “There’s no need to make such a scene.”
He carefully pulled free, his movements controlled, wary of provoking further retaliation. Straightening his suit, he forced a strained smile. “I was simply surprised by the sudden change of bride.”
At the word change, Liora’s spine stiffened.
She felt it the familiar sting of being traded, discarded, replaced and Dominic noticed immediately. His thumb brushed reassuringly over the back of her hand. “You and Father were responsible for arranging the wedding,” he said evenly. “Now you’re claiming I married the wrong woman. What would you have me do?”
Malcolm opened his mouth then closed it.
Because there was no good answer. Dominic continued, his tone steady. “I married the woman who stood beside me at the altar. The woman who completed the rites with me.”
His gaze lowered briefly to Liora.“ Therefore, Liora Hale is my wife.”
The words landed with quiet finality. “And your sister-in-law.”
Liora looked up at him, startled. Not once had he referred to her as temporary and not once had he distanced himself from her, he was finally claiming me.
The realization made her chest tighten. Malcolm felt something ugly twist inside him.
He had meant to humiliate Dominic and to trap him with an undesirable wife. Instead, Dominic had gained a woman who was composed, courageous, and undeniably attractive.
“…Congratulations,” Malcolm ground out. Then his eyes gleamed with calculation.
“Traditionally, the bride returns to her family after the wedding,” he said. “Given your condition, travel must be difficult. Why don’t I accompany my sister-in-law in your stead?”
Mr. Lawrence nearly scoffed aloud this was not concern it was provocation but Liora reacted instantly.
“There’s no need, Second Young Master,” she said firmly. “If my husband finds travel inconvenient, I can return on my own.”
Her voice was polite but her refusal was absolute. She stood a little straighter, her hand still in Dominic’s and for the first time, the Blackwood household truly began to understand that this quiet woman was not as easy to control as they had assumed.