Noor and Soraya were still a little shy around Phei's women, and honestly, who could blame them?
One did not simply walk into a circle of legacy princesses, former trainers, divine-adjacent beauties, terrifying heiresses, and women who looked like they could bankrupt a man emotionally before breakfast, then immediately behave as if the room belonged to them.
Even courage needed a chair sometimes.
Yet shyness did not stop their eyes from drinking in the cars Phei bought for them, nor did it stop Soraya from melting into his arms each time he hugged her, or Noor from looking quietly stunned when he kissed her forehead and lips as if spoiling her was the most natural thing in the world.
Victoria and Nastya watched all of it with faces carved from expensive restraint.
Their mouths stayed composed but their eyes did not.
There was something burning deep there, something sharp and bitter at the edges.
