#Chapter 27: Together Forever

Elara I stared at the tiny rings made from flower stems, touched by the idea and yet feeling a strange heaviness settle in my chest. It was an innocent gesture, but the girls didn’t realize just how awkward the idea of us wearing rings truly was. After all, Alaric and I weren’t husband and wife. Not in a way that mattered, at least. And the very moment these six months were up, we would get a divorce and shatter the very notion of the girls living in a whole household. Zoe held out one of the little rings to me, her eyes shining. Ella did the same for Alaric. I glanced up at him through my lashes, wondering how he would react. He had just allowed us to put a flower crown on his head, much to the girls’ great delight, but now they were offering these makeshift rings. I wondered if he would let them do this as well, if only to keep them happy—and avoid raising eyebrows amongst the staff, what with Clyde and Annie watching, after all. For a moment, he hesitated.