He Faked A Limp For Six Years To Avoid Marrying Me Chapter 05

He Faked A Limp For Six Years To Avoid Marrying Me Chapter 05

Every clansman’s brows drew tight the second they laid eyes on the stranger.

Talen spoke first, a faint tremor hiding in his tone.

“Who in the blazes is this man?”

“He’s the man I intend to marry.”

Gasps rippled through the entire crowd, no single soul believing a word I said.

Maren shook her head at me, disapproval thick in every word.

“You hired some stranger to put on a fake show to make Talen jealous? No one here’s buying this act.”

One of the clan elders clicked his tongue judgmentally.

That thoroughbred stallion and giant boar must’ve cost you a fortune to rent for this stunt.”

Relief washed over Talen’s face the second those words hit his ears.

“This little prank isn’t funny at all, Shay.”

I hadn’t opened my mouth to defend myself yet when Kael Mercer steered his horse straight for Talen’s position.

He lifted the horse’s front hooves high, threatening to trample the man beneath them.

Talen stumbled backward in a blind panic, tripping over a loose stone and crashing flat onto his rear in the dirt.

The children gathered to watch the wedding preparations howled with laughter.

“The groom fell flat on his rear! Do it again, mister, it’s hilarious!”

Talen scrambled back to his feet, cheeks burning scarlet with humiliation, and shot Kael a furious glare.

“Do you have any idea who I am? I’m Shay’s friend.”

When he said the word friend, his eyes darted toward me for a split second.

Six years of me cooking his meals, hunting extra game to feed him, begging every clan household for a boar on his behalf, screaming and crying to pull his attention when he ignored me—all of that reduced to the empty label of friend.

A bitter, hollow laugh bubbled up my throat. I laughed at how foolish I’d been all those years.

Kael picked up on the heartbreak flickering across my face instantly.

He reached down and laced his fingers tight through mine, our palms pressed fully together, steady warmth flooding through my cold skin.

“You’re nothing more than a friend to her. I’m the man who’s going to be her husband.”

He stood tall and broad-chested, proud to claim that title out loud for the whole clan to hear.

Without thinking twice, I squeezed his hand right back, clinging tight to the safety he offered me.

Talen’s gaze locked onto our intertwined fingers, a violent, possessive rage building inside him. Every fiber of his being ached to tear our hands apart.

“You’re lying through your teeth!” he shouted, voice cracking with unhinged anger.

Kael wore a calm, knowing smile in response.

Behind him, a line of Ironvein Clan riders trotted forward on well-bred horses.

Hand-forged silver and iron dowry chests stacked high on every saddle, piles of cured wild boar meat stacked beside them.

“These are all my marriage offerings for Shay. Every piece is genuine, no actors, no rented props, no staged tricks.”

“My love for her is sworn before heaven and earth. If I speak even one false word, let lightning strike me dead where I stand.”

I tilted my head upward and pressed my lips to his, cutting off the rest of his
vow before it could leave his mouth.

The entire crowd froze silent at the sight of our kiss.

Talen’s gritted, venomous voice snapped the trance holding them captive.

“You’re shameless, carrying on like this with a strange man!”

I lifted one eyebrow coolly.

“What’s shameful about kissing the man who’s come to claim me as his bride?
You’ve spent six years calling me rough, unrefined, unladylike—you know
exactly what kind of woman I am, don’t you?”

Two simple sentences shut him down completely, no retort left for him to fire
back.

Maren stepped into the silence next, addressing Kael directly.

“You’re not a member of Hollow Creek Clan, are you? You ride in from Ironvein
Tribe territory.”

That single observation sparked a desperate idea in Talen’s head.

“That’s right! Our clan law bans our women from marrying men from outside
our hollow!”

He twisted toward Elias, begging for backup.

“Clan Head, tell everyone the rule!”

Elias stared between Talen and me, then gave a slow, solemn nod.

“That’s correct, Shay. You were born and raised within these hills. You can’t
marry a man from outside our clan lands.”

I turned to face my father directly.

“The clan rule only states a suitor must hunt a mature wild boar to win a
bride’s hand. It never writes a single word saying the hunter has to belong to

Hollow Creek Clan.”

Elias’s mouth fell open, no rebuttal to offer.

Talen’s skin turned ashen gray, cold sweat dripping down his temples.

“Is that truly how the old laws read?”

He pressed Elias for a straight answer, voice cracking with panic.

Elias stayed silent for a long, heavy moment before admitting the truth.

“It’s true. The boar hunt requirement applies to every suitor, no matter which clan he hails from. No rule restricts cross-clan marriages.”

I clapped my hands once, sharp and clear.

“Then everything lines up perfectly. This prize giant boar Kael hunted far outmatches every hog caught by our Hollow Creek hunters this season.”

“Look at all these iron and silver dowry chests. Has anyone here ever seen marriage offerings this generous?”

A murmur rippled through the crowd, clansmen leaning forward to gawk at the piles of treasure, swallowing hard with envy.

“Never in our lives,” one elder muttered.

“Which means I have every right to wed Kael.”

I delivered my final statement loud enough for every ear to catch.

Talen surged forward to block me, shouting one word. “NO!”

“Mr. Reed,” I said flat.

“What could you possibly object to? And what reasons do you have for objecting?”

He stared at me, stunned and confused.

“What did you just call me?”