“Are you okay Scarlett?”

The words rolled off his tongue like he practiced it over and over again.

She felt like she could throw up. This was not the same voice he called her with that night. This one was more polished, softer. How good of an actor he was, and how foolish of a spectator she proved herself to be.

But she wouldn't be so foolish ever again, not to him.

“I'm fine Ryan”

She said carefully as she smiled in order not to raise any suspicion.

“The servant in charge of your room said it had a hard time sleeping….are you sure you're fine?”

He said as he already started eating. My lips rose up in disgust. He didn't care.

“So I was thinking about our marriage…”

The words rolled down his lips like they were practiced, said over time and time again, so much so like it was meant to be. This was the conversation they had before, this was the conversation that made her smile throughout the day. This was the conversation playing over and over in her head when she gave up everything to keep him breathing.

He stretched his hands as he held hers, his dark blue eyes laced in ‘love’ as he smiled.

“I was thinking why not get married in a month….why wait”

He said naturally as she stared at him. He was too good at it. Snarling within her, as much as she wanted to throw the glass of wine on his face, she smiled wildly.

“I would love that”

Ryan smiled as he squeezed her hands fondly and got back to his food. It was as easy as clock work. She would believe anything he said.

Something felt different today as she walked down that stairs, her stare, her aura, something felt off. She was awfully quiet, more preserved, somehow ... .more conscious. But her smile made him feel like he was over thinking things. Scarlett loved him, there was nothing different, she just had a bad dream, he was just imagining things. But he had to make sure he still had her heart.

“Why don't we go out and start shopping..mmm?”

He added with his usual smile as Scarlett smiled back.

“That would be lovely”

The rest of breakfast was quiet and after that she went upstairs to prepare for their outing. This was the only opportunity she was going to get to leave. She never noticed how much Ryan caged her, she had never felt the need to leave the castle because he had provided all she needed here. So even when she asked, it was always declined, but it was declined with so much love and a smile that she didn't question it.

“I don't want you to ever work, anything you need….I would get”

It always made her heart flutter, but now she could see through it. The only time she was allowed to go anywhere was when she was going with Ryan.

“Is something weird about Scarlett?”

Ryan asked his butler, she was too quiet. Normally she would string up conversations just to hear his voice. She never let the dining table go silent. But today, it was like she was in a hurry to leave him.

“She seems completely normal to me”

The butler said with a bow. He had learnt how to bottle up his observations. The last time he made his observations known the Alpha didn't take it lightly.

“So she doesn't seem unusually quiet”

The butler also felt it. In Fact it was so obvious that she had changed somehow, her aura, her smile, her eyes. They were more sharp, more steady, and he was completely rooting for it.

“The servant did say she had a rough night, she must still be shaky”

He said as Ryan nodded. He knew he was just overthinking, he just wanted a second opinion.

She came down to see the carriage, Ryan was already sitting in it as the coach helped her into the carriage.

They started moving as Scarlett made sure she monitored her surroundings, she didn't want to run back to the castle.

“....the most magnificent store in all of the kingdom, we're going to get shoes from there”

“Huh….ooo ..yh, thank you”

She said as she realized that he had been talking for a while and she had completely zoned out.

Ryan folded his hands back, she also didn't notice that he stretched out his arms for her to hold. Somehow it bothered him more than he wanted to admit, he liked knowing what she was thinking, so seeing her act secluded bothered him so much.

“What's in your head?”

He said as he said as he touched her hair.

He suspected something… she had to act before he turned the carriage around.

Reaching out, she took his hands as she gave him the softest smile she could mutter.

“I'm just overwhelmed….I'm just so happy”

She said as she looked down cutely.

Ryan smiled back, it was all in his head, she was just too overwhelmed with the fact that someone as mighty as him could take any interest at all in her.

“It's okay to be overwhelmed, just don't go silent on me”

He said as she smiled and nodded. She had to be more careful, she couldn't afford a slip up.

“I haven't passed this grounds before”

She said as Ryan smirked.

“Of course you haven't, this is the middle east, we're in the middle of the kingdom, it leads to the grand market. This is where commoners stay”

He said as he felt his ego swell

“Oooo…”

She said, She figured that she could kill two stones with a bird. Ryan loved bragging about how much he knew, so she would just continue asking questions, and he would lay out the Kingdom’s map.

“The market grounds were once fought for and sorted by other kingdoms, but we fought for it and we won it.”

He smiled as he boasted.

That's why it's called Bloody grounds….. because many were slain for the land.

“The market is more like a dead end of the kingdom. It's an extremely big market, it would take days to go around it”

“Wow”

She said softly urging him to continue

“