The curiosity those words arouse in me is far too powerful to fight. “And yet you do not believe it?”

“Far be it from me to mistrust the wisdom of our holy mother church.”

Something must show on my face because Sebastian reaches for me. His hand hovers in my peripheral vision, almost touching me but not quite.

I turn away from him. I do not want his sympathy or his doubts or anything that he has to offer. There is no room in my life right now for Sebastian and all the accoutrements that he brings. Weddings and dresses and a future that seems more fictional than it is.

“I’m sorry. I’ve upset you. That was never my intention.”

I can’t help myself. I whip around to face him. “No, your intention was to pick at my wounds and blame someone I love for my own sins.”

Sebastian’s eyes tighten. A small flinch, but a flinch all the same. “She poured liquor down your gullet to drown your grief.”

“She tried to get me to stop.” That much I remember.

He gazes at me for a beat longer. Then, with a brisk nod, he straightens the lapels of his coat. “I want what’s best for you. That is all. And I do not believe Ana is what’s best for you.”

I scoff. “And you are?”

His face hardens, those beautiful lips pressing into an unhappy line. “Whether or not either of us likes it, we are to be wed. I do not wish for our marriage to be unhappy, but I would have thought that you of all people would understand the significance of our union. Especially now.”

“What do you mean?” The second the words are out of my mouth, I realize how short-sighted they are.

“News that Don Carlos de Sonza has lost his only male heir has already spread to Spain. The vultures are already circling his fortune, his trade routes. And from what I hear, he’s been in no state to safeguard his business or his legacy.”

I breathe sharply through my nose. He isn’t wrong. “And you want to help me with that endeavor?”

“It is my duty to do so. And I have never shied away from my duty.” With a sigh, he rakes a hand through his hair, disturbing his pristine locks. “I do not believe you would either. We can help each other, you and I. If only you could see it.”

With that, he makes his way to the door. He pauses at the threshold, one hand resting on the brass doorknob. That inscrutable expression returns to his face. “Think about what I’ve said, Kiki. I am not your enemy.”

He leaves, the door clicking shut behind him.

I am left standing alone in the library, with naught but a sea of books and a painted ghost for company.