a's

open slowly, vis

noticed was sile

muffled whispers from relatives and maids. And most of all-no Jax. No col

sil

n. Just relief and relaxation. Beneath me, the source of that softness. I s

I sto

again and my eyes wi

i

tching up. It was high and white, with a delicate crystal chandelier th

m I?" I

st the headboard, and turned my

was the kind someone orders when they never want

painting I almost recognized-familiar, like a rough sketch I'

ead, mesmeriz

eled down my nerves. My vein felt loose and fl

t-because I was we

early organized, but still luxurious. The kind of b

owed s

d back,

rest more," the taller one said

oung

od ran

hey me

ere, to Jax's mansion, to deliver me like a package. I had trusted a stranger, and

ted? Why the silk sheets, the l

. Make me comfortable so I'd lowe

, forced on me by his father. The same father who sent men to

was in t

mach t

out that?" My voice shook,

" She looked genuinely confused. "But he was re

rescuer. Working for Jax.

ssed and stepped

looked back.

ead maid. "At the garden, down the terra

saw a male figure examining flo

arden. Tend

d, the heir to an empire-he didn't tend flowers. He d

Maybe the gossip, the rumors, the d

e him even car

into th

sion. Jax's mansion. I didn't recognize the location, but t

er-in-law. That I could have tolerate

ance. There was something about him that unsettled me

something. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again

ted fami

ss door. The fragrance of flowers mingl

spott

e trousers were long, decorated with ti

oader than I remembered. Taller, too. He faced

e on my white robe. Then I walked closer, ready

teps. Slowly, he

cross his face. He wore black sunglass

ed the s

l face

t

man who r

nd cr

who pulled me from Kaint's grip, who drove me through the

n't Ja

meone els

t

ing, my mind racing through po

are

rise tangled together with something else.

lowly, afraid

he only good thing that h