Page 25 of Claimed By River

River straightens in his chair. “Should we be worried?”

“Only if you dislike good news.”

River raises an eyebrow and waits.

“Ivan Sorokin got married yesterday.”

I jolt and gasp at Royal. “What?”

“He announced it publicly this morning.”

Royal opens his laptop and turns the screen toward us, revealing photographs from an extravagant wedding reception somewhere overseas. Ivan stands beside a glamorous blond woman whose smile looks practiced enough for magazine covers.

“He...” My voice barely works. “He actually did it.”

“He found another bride.” Royal taps the screen, and the photos scroll. “Eleven days before his birthday. He didn’t run the clock down, which tells us he stopped believing your father could deliver you a while ago.

Relief crashes over me so suddenly I exhale loudly. It’s over. At least that part of it. The crushing deadline that forced River and me into marriage no longer exists.

Royal smiles warmly. “Now you two are officially free to annul the marriage whenever you’re ready.” He closes the laptop. “We’re not finished with Damir yet,” he says, his tone growing more serious. “But one problem has solved itself.”

“There’s been nothing from him,” I say quietly. It isn’t a lie. It’s just not the whole truth, and I hate how easily it comes out.

Royal picks up his laptop. “I don’t know why he’s gone radio silent, but I hope it’s because he’s letting you go.”

I nod and say nothing at all.

Royal leaves, and in the quiet left behind, I watch River’s face.

He hasn’t said a word. Not since Royal said the word annulment. He’s picked the stylus back up, and he’s looking at the tablet, but he isn’t drawing anything.

I keep waiting. I want him to say something so badly that my ribs ache with it. Anything. That he doesn’t want it. That there’s a reason to keep a marriage neither of us needs anymore.

He’s told me he’d never let me go. He’s said it with his hand around my throat and his mouth at my ear. I’ve replayed it more times than I want to admit. But men say things in the dark. My father said beautiful things to my mother in front of company. I’ve spent my entire life learning not to believe words spoken only under certain conditions.

So I wait for him to say it in the daylight, with his clothes on, in a room with the lights on.

He doesn’t.

It’s the answer I need. I’m just another person he cares for who he happens to have mind-blowing sex with.

A few minutes later, his phone buzzes against the desk. He glances at it, slides it into his pocket, and grabs his truck keys from the counter.

“I need to run a quick errand.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He offers me a small smile. “I won’t be long.”

He pauses long enough to kiss me like his life depends on it. I’m breathing hard when he breaks it. Maybe it’s a goodbye. He heads toward the door, and I watch him leave with tears swimming in my eyes.

I’m going to have to learn to live without him. The bell above the front door jingles, and a strange emptiness settles over the shop. I leave his room a few minutes later and head back to my desk. Royal appears carrying a cup of coffee.

“My last appointment canceled.” He glances around. “I guess I’ll leave you and River to close as soon as he’s done.”

“Alright,” I say after a brief hesitation.

I should tell him River already left. But I need time to myself. To think about my plans when River and I go our separate ways.