Chapter Six

Khalil stood and watched as Maria walked Isabelle into the house. He hated how much he enjoyed looking at her, how the sun caught in her hair, how her wide hips swayed gently as she walked. He sighed and moved away from his window, remembering her questions in the car, and hating that the death of his late mate still got to him.

She had had fear in her eyes. Real fear. He was aware of the rumors and knew what was being said about him, but he had had no problem with it until now. On the contrary, he loved it. He loved how people moved out of the way whenever he walked into a room, the cowering, the hushed tones. He reveled in it. Made it part of who he was.

Until now...

Now, he had the insane urge to be liked by his new wife. He wanted her to look at him with eyes that weren’t filled with fear hate or anguish. He wanted her to gaze upon him with eyes filled with adoration...perhaps even love...

Khalil shook his head vigorously as the thought crept into his head, as though to physically remove the thought. He sighed and looked up at the painting of his wife looking down at him, judging him, her eyes reminding him of the promise he made to her. He sunk into his chair and played with the thought that perhaps it was time to move on...but the image of his wife dying in his arms refused to desert him. Even then, it plagued him as he played with the thought.

At that moment, he decided to himself that he would keep his distance from Isabelle. He would stay as far away from her as he could, and even as he made that decision, sealed that resolve, he felt a slight pang in his chest. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to the world and he wondered his next course of action when the commotion in his house caught his attention.

Khalil cracked his eyes open as he listened intently, his hackles rising as he struggled to decipher the noises downstairs. He didn’t have to wonder for long. He stood to his feet and sighed heavily, mentally preparing himself for the commotion that was about to burst through his door.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Khalil groaned as Cassandra threw open his door, her eyes glowing with anger and swollen with tears, her hair plastered to her forehead in sweat and her

hands balled into fists by her side.

And behind her, Martha stood, a look of exertion on the elder lady’s face. The plump lady looked at her in disapproval. She never liked Cassandra...a sentiment that she had made no secret of. Her staunch disapproval of Cassandra could be mistaken for hate...but it was Martha, and she didn’t have a single hating bone in her body.

“I tried to stop her!” Martha said, her cheeks flushed from the exertion. “But the silly girl insisted that she must see you tonight!”

Cassandra’s eye twitched, her temper reaching a boiling point as she turned her gaze to the older woman who had looked at her with nothing other than disgust in her eyes, and her nose turned up whenever she walked past her, who for some reason had thought her no better than the mud beneath her feet, who for some reason looked upon her with eyes that told her she was a stain on the person of her precious ward, Khalil.

“You fucking hag!!” Cassandra hissed. Her anger knew no bounds.

“Watch your mouth, Cass,” Khalil said firmly.

Martha rolled her eyes and stood akimbo. “You have to tell her to leave, Khalil...” Martha said. “Remember that you now have a bride—”

“Excuse us, Martha,” Khalil replied firmly, much to the shock and admonition of Martha.

“Excuse me?” She asked, her voice filled with ice and disapproval.

“You heard me.”

Khail looked away, refusing to meet the disappointment and disapproval that was no doubt lurking in the older woman’s gaze. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the grandfather clock in his office and waited until he heard the door close behind the older woman. Then, and only then did he turn to face the angry vixen staring daggers at him.

“You fucking went through with it!” Cassandra screamed, her face turning red with the anger and exertion.

Khalil sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead as he felt the beginnings of a headache. “I don’t know what the problem is, Cassandra,” Khalil said. “You knew that this was going to happen. I informed you of the possibility months ago.”

“And that is supposed to make it better?!” Cassandra seethed.

“Cass—”

“What are you going to do with me now that you have brought that whore into this house?!” Khalil sighed and closed his eyes against the steady throbbing in his head. “You know why I had to marry her, Cass...” he said softly, hoping to pacify her. “She means nothing to me...she doesn’t mean anything to anybody.

The only woman that matters in my life is you.”

Cassandra looked up at him with eyes filled with tears and fading anger. She wanted to believe him, after all, they had discussed this marriage. After all, she had given her blessing. What did it matter that he was now the legal husband of an untried brat? What did it matter that she now shared his name and his fortune and his respect? What did it matter that it was what she wanted most from him but he had simply refused to give?

After all, this didn’t matter much in their world anyway...

Khalil sighed heavily as Cassandra melted into his arms and cried heavily, her tears soaking through his shirt as her hands wrapped around him tightly, as though to physically remove him from that marriage and make him one with her. He held on to her, holding her just as tight, maybe if he held her tight enough, he would be able to push the image of Isabelle away from his mind.

As though summoning her with his mind, the door opened slowly and Isabelle stood on the other side with a shocked expression on her face. Khalil’s hands tightened around Cassandra as her eyes found the one woman who was the latest subject of her hate.

“You little bitch!”

“Cass...”

“Get out!”

Isabelle’s eyes met his, as though asking him if she should leave, as though asking him to choose between both women. He saw the disappointment in her face at his silence, and at the way he continued to hold her, and as she walked away, he sighed heavily and wondered to himself what exactly he had gotten himself into.