Arranged: An Array Series (Book #1)(53)

John nudged me out of my thinking. “Your sister is out here.”

I followed his gaze to find my sister striding toward me, looking pissed, her hands in fists and eyes narrowed at me. Her meeting with our father hadn’t gone well, apparently.

“What are you doing out here?” I called out to her, watching her dodge my men sparring with each other all over the field. It was dangerous being out here; my men weren’t looking to make sure a woman wasn’t on the field. She coughed from the dirt, before she stopped in front of me, waving her hand in front of her face.

“You are the stupidest man I have ever met!” Hara exclaimed, and several soldiers turned toward us. No woman entered the sparring grounds; except, of course, my unruly sister.

Placing my hand on her shoulder, I escorted her toward my small wooden cabin, where I kept my training records and plans. When we got a fair distance away from prying ears and the deathly dust, I stopped.

I crossed my arms over my chest, peering down at her. “Now, what is this about?”

“You are engaged to be married, Garr?” she seethed.

My forehead furrowed. “I am not.”

Hara squinted, pointing at me with her small finger. “That isn’t what she said. She said you were to marry Sophia Chitwood.”

“Who?”

Her jaw tightened. “Ava.”

All the blood raced from my head. “What the fuck?” I raked my hands through my hair, my stomach twisting.

“Fuck is right!” Hara ranted. “I thought you adored her. I mean, you talked about her like you did; it was evident in your letters. How could you be so foolish!”

“I didn’t agree to marry Chitwood!” I snapped, feeling my face heat. “Father has been pushing me to marry the Chit.”

Hara took a step closer. “Then you better tell Ava because, right now, she is done with you.”

“I don’t give a shit what she is, Hara. I’m not interested in settling down, and—”

Her face twisted. “Stop lying to yourself. Mama and I see it.”

“You haven’t been around to see me act or look at someone a certain way.”

“Keep lying, Garr. Go ahead.” She crossed her long arms. “But I warn you, if you don’t fix it, Ava will shut you out, and then there will be no Ava, even if you come to your senses and change your mind.”

“Get back to the castle.” I moved past her, striding toward the back entrance of the castle.

Pushing through a set of oak doors, I whisked through the halls. My heart pounded out of my chest at the realization that not clarifying Sophia would make Ava not want to speak with me again. I’d had plans in my head of not settling down for so long, it scared me that I’d want to stay here—the one place I couldn’t stand—just to be with her.

Son of a bitch.

Reaching her room, I knocked loudly before I changed my damn mind.

Nothing.

I knocked again and waited.

Silence.

“Avie!”

I heard a sigh, and then, “Come in.”

That was all I needed. Pushing through, I stopped mid-step.

She looked more stunning than I remembered, curled up in a chair by the fire, her arm looped around her knees. She also looked haggard, the flames showing off how much her rosy cheeks had disappeared. Her bright red hair was braided and radiated from the flames, but her eyes were heavy-lidded and tired. Her dress was plain brown and hung over her body.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice held the irritation that confirmed she was avoiding me.

“I hadn’t seen you in days,” I said. She looked away and gazed into the fire.

“You’ll survive.”

“Are you still feeling ill?”

“No.”

“Then why do you look like shi—unwell?”

She shrugged. “Just tired.”

“Is the bed not—”

“The bed is fine.”

I gritted my teeth. The short answers weren’t sitting well with me. She was treating me like…anyone else she didn’t want to be bothered with.

“Then you should get some rest.”

She glanced over at me, her green eyes sizing me up. “Thanks, Doctor Cranfield.”

“Hara came to see me.”

Ava sighed. “I figured she would.”

I walked over to stand in front of her. “Then let’s talk about it.”

She rubbed her temples with her fingers. “I’m tired. I don’t feel like talking.” I watched her, emotionless.

“Then I’ll do the talking.”

“I don’t feel like listening either.”

I almost placed my hand on her arm but decided against it. “So, you’re just going to sit there and pout for the rest of your stay?” I snapped.

Ava didn’t flinch; she just continued to stare at me. I saw the twinkle missing in her eyes as I studied her. Instead, they held sheer resentment for me and what she had been told.

“What would I pout about?”

“I’m not going to marry her.” I waited for her to respond but she said nothing. I took a seat across from her. “Are listening to me?”

“I am.”

“Well?”

“What do you want me to say, Garr?”