5.

ZARA.

“Father, I want to marry Lina,” Asher said, squeezing Lina’s shoulder.

Of course he’d say that. Of course he’d want to marry her. After what he had just finished saying to me? Why was I surprised he made his wish clear?

Yet, I couldn't do anything as the tears spilled from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I couldn't do anything at the slice of pain that shot through me. Couldn't do shit other than to watch my life get ruined.

Okay, so obviously, Asher had every right not to marry me, because what I did was very vile, although I had no idea why I’d done that, but I completely understand him. Even if I shouldn't. Even if I now know he and Lina have been doing it. But deciding to get married to Lina on a whim was what I didn’t understand. Okay, not a whim. They have been together for a while now according to him, which totally makes sense.

All the more reason to make me believe that this was planned. I had been set up. What I don't know is if both Lina and Asher planned this, or if Lina did this alone since she provided the pictures. Perhaps, even the stranger may have had a hand in it. Because how can anyone explain any of this?!

I was still processing my thoughts and what was going on when the strange man began to speak.

“Why don't we make this more interesting?” he said.

“What do you want, Chase?” Clinton Zapata, Asher’s father and the king of Zakori, asked him as I just stared in bewilderment.

He smiled, then shifted his attention to me.

“Zara,” he started as the entire hall went quiet. He reached out to take my hand in his, and I placed mine ever so gently as he sank onto one knee.

‘Oh, my Lumus. Oh, my Lumus. Oh my Lumus,’ Nia shrieked within me, completely giddy with excitement, as well as panicking. I, on the other hand, have no idea what the hell was running through my frozen, muddled brain.

“Will you marry me?” he finished, leaving me completely breathless as gasps and whispers instantaneously filled the hall once more. But I zoned everything out. Everything except for the words I kept repeating.

The words hung in the air, and I had no idea what to say, but it didn’t look like a bad opportunity to me. Unless, of course, this was also planned. To get me to marry the stranger, who was Asher’s uncle, and ruin my life. I’d just been branded a whore, and no lycan, despite being one myself, would even look at me twice after what had happened today spread around the kingdom. Neither would a wolf. My reputation was completely ruined, and this might be the only chance I get to revive it.

I don't trust Chase. Not even a bit. He had to have known this was going to happen. It was the only plausible explanation for this insanity. Because who in their right mind would marry someone who’d just broken her mate bond and was branded a bond-betrayer?

It felt like my whole world was sinking, crashing into each other, and there was barely anything I could do about it.

Chase looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine. There was something about the way he looked at me that completely unnerved me. Nia and I had never felt like this for anyone before, not even with Asher.

But Chase was granting me a chance of reprieve, a means to where I don’t have to be shamed any longer for the branding on my wrist. Even if I can't trust it.

He squeezed my hand in his, and an array of flutters exploded from every single pore on my skin, leaving me with goosebumps.

‘Did you feel that Zara?’ Nia asked urgently.

‘I did. I fucking did. What’s going on?’

I turned to Chase, furrowing my eyebrows at him. Surely, he doesn’t know what it means to marry me. A woman who had been branded a bond betrayer on her wedding day. He would have to live with embarrassment as long as I am his. It was even worse, given that we aren’t mates.

So I asked him the one question I had. “Why?” the word spilled from my lips in a breathless whisper. “Why would you marry me?”

“Because,” Chase started, his eyes locked on mine. “Because it just feels right,” He looked around with a small smile playing on his lips as if he was telling me a secret only the both of us knew. “Besides, I feel like I’m partly to be blamed for all this.”

I smiled a little. I knew that it wasn’t entirely my nor his fault because I wasn’t myself last night, but I didn’t know what it was. And I wouldn’t deny that I wasn’t attracted to Chase.

I stopped my eyes from roaming his body as I knew that this was a very crucial time.

Before I could respond, he was already talking. “And I want to try to make things right, to protect you from the shame and humiliation that has been unfairly thrust upon you. And if you are thinking that I had a hand in any of this, which is definitely a ploy, then I swear to you I don't. I wasn't part of whatever plans they made to ruin you.”

I let out a loose breath as something heavy lifted from my chest, stirring something deep in me that I couldn’t quite name. Was it gratitude, relief, or perhaps something else that I didn’t know? I trusted him. I believed what he said, and while I cannot explain how that was possible, I was still relieved I got it.

“I’m not fit to be anyone’s wife,” I said quietly. “I have just been branded.”

“Zara,” he started gently. “I know this may seem like an impossible choice, but please consider what is best for you. Will you allow yourself to be swept away by shame and humiliation, or will you stand up and fight for your happiness?”

Of course, I wanted to stand up and fight for my happiness. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I found out I might not have acted completely of my own volition and the fact that Asher and Lina are slithering snakes.

For a long time, I’d allowed myself to be controlled by what other people thought of me, but not anymore. Now, I was faced with a choice that could change the course of my life forever, and I knew I had to be brave enough to take on the opportunity for a fresh start, no matter how uncertain the path ahead may be.

“I am a king,” Chase continued, his voice a low whisper just for me like we had been talking all this while. “I will protect you with everything in me,” there was a certain tone of conviction in his voice, and I wondered if it was partly because he blamed himself for what had happened to me. “Together, we will get to the bottom of all this. And you can do that while holding that title of a queen, right? Which is better than the title of a princess you’d have gotten.”

Of course! Oh Lumus! This makes perfect sense! And so, with a sense of determination coursing through my veins, I turned to Chase, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and hope. “Yes,” I said softly, my voice trembling with emotion. “Yes, I will marry you.”