Chapter 27

27

T he chapel was quiet now. The chaos that had erupted only hours ago was gone, and all that was left were remnants of broken glass and bloodstains that would take a long time to scrub from the stone floor.

Thalia stood at the window of her room, watching the sun set behind the rolling hills. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the delicate lace of the white wedding dress that she still wore though it had lost its brilliance, stained with the violence of the day.

My wedding day… Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but it wasn’t.

Instead, it had ended in bloodshed, betrayal, and confusion. Her uncle was dead and with him, the weight of fear and control that had been hanging over herself and her sisters for years. She should have felt free — liberated from the chains that bound her to a future she never chose — but the heaviness in her heart remained.

Not because of her uncle but because of Finn.

He had walked away from her, and in doing so, he had broken something deep inside her that she hadn’t realized could be broken. She had been prepared to fight for them, for him, for whatever strange bond had developed between them. But he left her standing there, covered in the blood of the man who had tried to kill her, and he hadn’t even looked back.

I feel like such a fool.

The door to her room creaked open, and Diana poked her head inside. “Thalia?” Her younger sister’s voice was small, almost afraid. “Are you all right?”

Thalia forced herself to turn away from the window, offering her sister a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m fine, Diana,” she said softly though the words felt like a lie.

Diana stepped into the room, glancing nervously at Thalia’s dress. “You’re still wearing that?” She said, wringing her hands. “I… I wasn’t sure if I should take it away for you or —”

“No,” Thalia interrupted, her voice much harsher than she had hoped. She shook her head and smiled again at her sisters. “It’s all right. I’ll take it off soon.”

Her sister lingered by the door, as if unsure whether to leave or stay. “Finn… he’s downstairs,” she said hesitantly. “He’s been talking with the other Lairds, making arrangements for… something.”

Something…

Thalia gnawed on her cheek. She knew exactly what that something was. The wedding was not going to happen — the wedding was not going to finish, anyway, and Finn was busy ensuring his guests were accommodated, and they weren’t left unsettled after the day’s violence. He was fulfilling his duties as always.

“He wants to speak with you,” Diana added, her voice even quieter now, and Thalia cursed herself as her heart flipped.

He wants to speak with me?

“He said it was important,” her sister followed.

“I see,” she murmured and glanced over at her reflection in the long mirror. Her hair was still pinned up though it was slightly messy now; strands fell loose and framed her face.

Is this what ‘broken’ looks like?

“Thank you, Diana,” she said, turning back to her sister. “I’ll go down in a moment.”

Diana nodded, relief flickering in her eyes before she quickly slipped out of the room, leaving Thalia once more. The sounds of multiple tiny, animated footsteps retreating from her rooms let Thalia know that her sisters had drawn straws to talk to her.

She rolled her eyes, and for a long moment, she stood in the silence of her room, staring again at her reflection in the glass.

I should change, she thought. Take off the dress and prepare for whatever conversation was about to happen.

But part of her couldn’t bring herself to remove it, as if clinging to the last thread of the day that should have been her wedding.

She took a deep breath and finally turned away, heading for the door.

The great hall was bustling with activity when Thalia descended the stairs. Lairds and their wives, their friends who had welcomed her into their makeshift family, all mingled with clansmen. Everyone kept their voices low as they spoke of the day's events. There were more smiles and laughter than sorrow and tears, and Thalia remembered, These people lived for days like today.

Cillian caught her eye as she stepped onto the main floor, offering her a small nod of acknowledgement though his gaze held something like sympathy. She knew the others had to have heard about what happened between her and Finn, but at least none of them seemed to be talking about that specifically which she appreciated.

Her eyes scanned the room, searching for him. He was near the hearth, speaking with Rhys and Conor. His tall frame was tense, his broad shoulders stiff, but his expression was unreadable. He looked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back, and he, too, had not changed out of his clothing. No one had.

Thalia’s heart ached at the sight of him.

She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to approach him or wait until he noticed her. But before she could decide, Finn’s gaze lifted, meeting hers from across the room. The noise around them seemed to fade as their eyes locked, and something flickered in his expression — and then it was cold again.

Without a word, though, he excused himself from his conversation and strode toward her with the quiet confidence that was so distinctly his.

“Thalia,” he said softly as he reached her, his voice low, “can I talk with ye?”

Her throat tightened, and she could only nod.

He gestured for her to follow him, and they stepped out of the great hall into a quieter corridor where the noise of the guests faded into the background. The air between them was think with tension, the unspoken words hanging heavy as they walked in silence for a few moments before Finn finally stopped, turning to face her.

“I wanted to speak with ye,” he began, his voice careful, as if he were choosing his words with great care. “About the wedding… about us.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she found herself nodding again, urging him to continue.

Finn’s dark eyes searched hers for a moment before he sighed, his expression softening only slightly. “Ye are free now, Thalia. Truly free,” he said quietly. “The wedding is cancelled.”

The words hit her again like a punch to the gut, stealing her breath away. She had anticipated it, but it was still a shock to hear him confirm it.

Finn’s gaze dropped to the floor, his jaw tightening, before he looked back at her. “We are nae going through with this. I refuse. Ye are no longer bound by any deal or obligation or choice you made to marry me.”

‘I refuse to marry you’

He continued, “Ye can leave. Take your kin and leave. Build a life for your family. Ye could marry anyone ye want.”

I need to tell him that I’ve fallen in love with him in spite of everything… That I want him.

Her heart was in her throat, now, and she swallowed hard, her hands trembling at her sides. She opened her mouth to speak.

But before she could get the words out, Finn spoke again. “Ye daenae have to worry about our deal anymore, lass. Or me or any of this. I can have an heir with anyone, Thalia. Just go.”

His words shattered her heart into a million pieces.

‘I can have an heir with anyone. Just go.’

The world seemed to tilt beneath her feet as his words sank in, and suddenly, she felt so incredibly foolish.

Of course it doesn’t have to be me. This was a marriage of convenience after all and clearly nothing more.

She remembered that he had warned her that he would give her anything except his heart.

How could I have believed that things had changed between us? After that night in the study, and by the waterfall. How could I have been so stupid?

She felt heat rise and rest in her cheeks, feeling quite na?ve thinking that she was about to confess her love for him. She was about to tell him that she wanted to marry him, that she didn’t care about the deal or the circumstances that had brought them together. But now… now, she realized just how foolish that had been. How foolish she had been.

Thalia forced a cold smile, her heart cracking in her chest, as she said, “Thank you for setting me free.”

But as the words left her mouth, she didn’t feel free at all. In fact, she had never felt more caged.

Finn nodded, and his expression was something of relief mixed with his usual cold front. “Aye,” he murmured. “Ye deserve to have a true choice, Thalia.”

A choice? You mean the very thing I have been fighting for all along?

“I… I should go,” she said, stepping back, her throat tight. “I need to — be with my sist?—.”

Her feet had once again caught in the skirts of her blood-stained wedding dress, interrupting her escape, and her balance shifted backwards.

Finn’s eyes flickered with something unrecognizable as he quickly reached out and gripped her waist, pulling her upright. His whiskey-stained breath mixed with the fragrance of the flowers in her hair. The scent intoxicating with how close he was to her again.

A heated silence rested between them, and his thumb caressed her sides almost imperceptivity. Just then, an uproarious laughter broke out in the great hall, and Finn snapped back to the present. He held her out at an arm’s length to create distance and took a step back himself, his hands falling to his sides.

Thalia’s eyes followed as the feeling of his touch left her forever more. Without another word, she turned and walked away, her heart heavy with the weight of everything she couldn’t say.

She had wanted so desperately to convey her feelings to him. But now, as she walked back to her room, she realized that none of that mattered.

Because in the end, Finn didn’t want her.

Not really.

Now, I’m really free.