“No.”
“Then what do you expect?”
“Honesty.”
I turned too quickly.
The loosened dress shifted at my shoulders. I caught it against myself.
Niko stepped back immediately.
The distance he gave me was instinctive.
That, more than his promise, loosened something in my chest.
“I don’t know what happens now,” I said.
His expression changed.
Not much.
Enough.
“What do you mean?”
I forced the words out.
“I mean this is my wedding night. I mean there is a connecting door and a house full of people who know we are married. I mean I don’t know what you expect from me.”
His face became unreadable again, but the stillness was different.
“What do you think I expect?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have assumptions.”
“So do you.”
He accepted the blow.
“Yes.”
I looked at the floor.
“My assumptions are probably less informed.”
He waited.
I had never told anyone.
