Chapter 172

Theodore’s POV

There were eighteen days left in our three-week time frame in which to take down Owen. I had left Violet at the border three days ago, and I couldn’t think about it without tearing up. Then again, maybe that was the onions.

I sliced the knife down into yet another onion. Violet had offered to try the week-long onion-only diet with me as part of our list of possible ways to undo the fake mate bond, but the High Priestess recommended against it for the baby’s health.

I had started the diet immediately upon my return, telling Eva that I had had a restorative retreat to prepare myself mentally for our relationship, and that now I needed to prepare myself physically. Starting with a week-long cleanse of consuming only onions and abstaining from all pleasurable activities.

She had immediately started to pout about the last part. I somehow convinced her it would only make it more exciting once we finally…

I hadn’t even needed to finish my sentence before she perked up. It was a good thing, too, because so much as talking about sleeping with her made me want to vomit.

The first three days, I ate only raw onions anytime I got hungry. I had already lost weight.

To try and make this diet a little more palatable, I was making onion soup, without all the cheese and bread and generally delicious parts, and an onion chutney. It was all various levels of awful.

I was peeling the next onion when Eva entered the kitchen. She took one step into it, breathed in the smell, and retreated back to the threshold of the kitchen. “Remind me, dearest, how long is this new diet?”

I didn’t need to fake my disgust with it as I whined, “A whole week.”

She looked like she wanted to comfort me – but not enough to enter the zone nearest the onions where the smell was inescapable. At least this diet gave me that luxury.

“My dear, you’re clearly not enjoying this. Why not cut the diet short? Three days is more than most would last.”

I took in a breath, readying myself for the next part that I would have to fake, and hating the smell of onions that came with that breath. “I will not show up as your mate or your husband half-way, nor shall I prepare for either honor half-way. I will see this cleanse through to the end.”

She smiled because she was supposed to when I said sweet things like that. I was getting better at using her desire to hold up a certain image against her.

“The Goddess has truly blessed me with you,” she replied. A bland, safe response. “Speaking of being my husband, you said the lawyers should finalize the paperwork for your divorce this week?”

I worked very hard to keep my face from falling at her question. I went so far as to widen my smile as I said, “Yes, darling. Just a few more days.”

Eva’s smile brightened then into something more genuine, though I doubted it was the thought of spending the rest of her life with me that inspired it as much as spending her life with wealth and status. “And then we can get married right away?”

I went back to chopping onions. “Do you think two months from now would give us enough time to make all the necessary preparations?” If everything went according to plan, Violet and I would be reunited in half that time, and the wedding would never happen.

“Two months?” The disappointment in Eva’s voice caught me by surprise.

Most people took at least a year to plan a wedding. I’d thought two months would be more than enough of a rush to put her at ease – and get her off my back.

“Why can’t we get married next week?” she asked, looking like she was trying to look hurt when really she was pissed.

I set the onion and knife in my hands down, treading carefully as I walked over to Eva and looped my arms around her waist. I pretended not to notice when she flinched at the feeling of the sticky onion juice on my hands.

“My darling Eva, I would wed you today if I could, and if you want to get married the second the divorce is finalized, we will. It’s only that you’d mentioned wanting to throw a party for all of Midnight to attend to get to know their new Luna, and I know that would take at least a couple of months to plan. I just want to make you happy, so let’s do whichever option brings you most joy.”

It was a gamble, but I was betting that the allure of an ostentatious and gaudy display of our love would outweigh her nervousness to tie me to her as quickly as possible.

When she hesitated, I brushed my onion laced fingers along her cheekbone, enjoying the way her muscles stiffened at the smell. “Besides, what’s the rush when we have the rest of our lives together?” I cooed, then exhaled what I pretended to be a loving and tender sigh.

I feigned ignorance when her eyes visibly watered at the smell of my breath, smiling only within myself.

Impressively, she did not pull away. Though she did switch to breathing through her mouth.

“You’re right, my dear. I had forgotten we had discussed a big party for the entire territory. I would like to do that – for our people.”

I closed my eyes in fake awe. “Your thoughtfulness is truly inspiring.”

A light pressure along my forehead surprised me, and I opened my eyes to find Eva’s fingers tracing the shattered forehead band there. “Do you suppose this will disappear once the divorce goes through?”

Shit.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to lie about this. “I honestly have no idea what it is or why it’s still there. I even did some research about it during my retreat but found nothing.”

She grazed her hand down the side of my face, my neck. It was an effort to remain calm and relaxed, and I focused on breathing out of my mouth to make her proximity to me as disgusting as possible for her.

Eva’s fingers came to rest on my chest where they toyed with what she thought was my mother’s token, always hanging around my neck. I wanted to bat her hand away, wanted to yank my real mate’s token out of Eva’s greedy, deceitful hands. But I stood my ground, strong in my faith that Violet and I would be reunited soon.

I focused on my breath, exhaling even harder, as if her hands on me sent my heart leaping. Which they did – though not in the way she wanted.

Finally, Eva swallowed, unable to take the pungent onion smell any longer, and stepped away from me. It was an awkward move, and I could see her scrambling for an excuse. It baffled me that at no point did it occur to her to simply be honest and tell me I stunk.

For fear that she would not find the excuse she was looking for and approach me once more, I said, “Darling, I don’t think we’ve discussed how things went for you while I was away. Did you help Dahlia look after Midnight in my absence?”

Eva beamed, and I returned to the cutting board as she droned on about every last detail.