I Am Who? - Book 2

Chapter 38 - Taunts, Fears, & Proofs

*Sorry this is posted so late! We haven't had internet all day :( hopefully, the content will make up for the lateness of the hour haha*

"You don't look like you've been sleeping very well." It was too early in the morning for me to have to hear Kamon's voice, but here we were. "Was the floor that uncomfortable?"

The floor? It had been two nights since the servant came to our room, and we had spent both lying stiffly next to each other and pretending the other wasn't present. When we weren't around others, the air between us was awkward and unnatural and made my skin crawl until I was almost ready to explode.

To be honest, I was exhausted. Exhausted with the act, with the Seventh, and with the feeling that my every move was being scrutinized every moment of every day. It didn't help that Ayan was putting me through rigorous workouts everyday—or maybe it did. I was beginning to feel like that was the only thing keeping me sane.

Drawing a deep breath, I looked up at Kamon. We'd been forced to eat breakfast with her and Sakchai the past two mornings, but this morning, Ayan and the others had been mysteriously too busy to join us, and I was seriously missing their moral support with only Kotaro's stony figure beside me.

Despite my annoyance with him, however, I nearly lost my last bits of self-control at the way she was staring at Kotaro. As if she felt the intensity of my gaze, her eyes shifted to me, and she smiled mockingly. We need their help. We need their help. The phrase was becoming less and less of a reason to restrain from hurling my sausages into her ugly face.

"You're a fool, you know." She preened at me. "If I were pretending to be his wife, I would take every opportunity to touch him—especially at night."

"Kamon!" Sakchai growled. "Calm down! He's a member of the Fifth."

"I didn't say I'd marry him, cousin." Kamon shrugged. "The remaining members of that tribe deserve to be enslaved for life. I would just give him the privilege of being my personal slave."

I gripped my fork so tightly my fist began to shake. So help me, if she said one more word—

"I'm afraid I'm already far too busy to help you out in that way." Kotaro's hand covered mine. "As you can see, my wife didn't get much sleep last night, either."

My heart didn't need to skip a beat at the words, but it did. He had never referred to me as his wife before, and the sound of the word coming from his mouth made me feel something in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't name. Whenever we were alone, he was so distant now that I was foolishly grateful for every bit of affection he showed me even if it was only an act.

"Yes, well." Kamon's raised a brow and her eyes darted down to our joined hands.

Hard as she was to read, I could tell that she was perplexed by the fact that we hadn't tripped up even once. Surely, that servant had reported what he had seen in our room to her, and as far as I knew, she hadn't come to find out if he had told her the truth or not. Even if she had, she would have found Kotaro and I right next to each other.

If she'd happened to come in a rare moment when we were able to sleep, she would have found us in each other's arms, for as cold and distant as we behaved toward each other during the day, something in our subconscious seemed to reach for the other. I had awoken every morning with my head on his chest, but that had only proved to deepen my unrest and sorrow.

"Perhaps you should join me later in order to find a little rest from all your efforts." Kamon's gaze shifted back to Kotaro, and she leaned closer. "I can assure you it would be a most...fruitful time."

"Oh, stop it, Kamon." Sakchai looked at his cousin in disgust. "Obviously, our friend would rather try his hand and besting me again." He raised a cocky brow. "What do you say, Fifth? After a day off, you should be mentally prepared to lose again. Meet me in the sparring court, and we can arrange that." Sakchai got to his feet. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes, but first, I have to speak with my cousin."