Zara studied Riya carefully. It struck her again how blind she had been in the past five years, how Riya's disdain had always lurked just beneath the surface. She had never noticed it until that night when everything had changed. That brutal experience had opened her eyes, peeled away the mask Riya wore so well.
Now, she could see her for what she truly was.
Zara tilted her head slightly. "Why do I smell jealousy? Do you have feelings for Nathaniel?"
Riya's face drained of color in an instant. For someone who had spent years burying her feelings under a polished smile and perfect manners, Zara's sharp words hit like a sledgehammer. Her love for Nathaniel had been her most carefully guarded secret, something she never dared to say aloud. To confess it would risk everything: her standing in the family, her closeness to him, the carefully constructed image she had maintained for years.
