ter estate felt like

ley was thick and heavy. Eleanor, sitting be

is a brilliant man. He will lead Baxter

eyes fixed on the manicured landscapes flashing past the window.

aw the set of her jaw, the unwavering steel in her eyes. This wasn't a whim. It was a

t looked more like a museum than a home, cold and grand and utterly without warmth. The Baxt

hard Baxter, Dominic's parents, were seated on a brocade so

her voice smooth as silk but with an edge of stee

ir condescending gazes without flinching. The Avery of the past would have been stammer

n, he a

dark prince in a perfectly tailored suit.

Avery's acr

a lifetime of pain, seized her. But she forced it down, locking

no recognition, no flicker of memory. Just a blank, dismissive

n't re

dizzy. The irony was a bitter pill. The worst

of bored arrogance. His attention was fixed on something in his hand

drawn to it. He

rose quar

y there, in his large hand, the soft pink stone a stark contrast to his pr

ut her mind was screaming. She had to get it back. It was a gift from her mot

ing in the silence. Charles was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to broa

and the icy facade of his expression cracked. A subtle w

ndows to take the call. He kept his voice low, but t

nts. "... don't worry ... I'm

e, it was. History was unf

d at her, should have hurt. Instead, it was a relief. It was a confir

the mask of indifference

able. "Something has co

n't acknowledge his fiancée or her

, but they said nothing. This was their

ithout a glance. The rose quartz bracelet, still clutched in his

l nail in the coffin. It was all th

, Charles cleared his throat. He looked directly at Ri

half of the Harding family, we would like to formally re