na felt an invisible weight settle over her

an who had already won. His gray eyes, weathered by time, held an unreadable depth, and for the firs

didn't

er than a life spent running from the mons

tapping lazily against the wooden table. "You've mad

t she kept her chin high. "I

ed at the corner o

Outside, the rain had eased into a gentle drizzle, the soft hum of water trickling down the streets. The world

ee before setting the cup down with a

stiffened.

u came to me in desperation, asking for protection. That

into the fabric of

on as if measuring her tolerance for this a

hing elaborate-she just needed to belong to

d of it made he

oday. A husb

"you will move into my home. My name alone will not be en

d sharply. "What

rt, cara mia. You will sleep in my house. You will wear my ring

, but there was an unspoken weigh

hould have asked more questions. She should hav

self to nod. "

effortless, belying the fragile exterior he had crafted. It was the first glimpse

aid. "Meet me tomorrow morning at t

"That's it? J

ghtly, his expression unr

at the table, staring at the remnants of his unfinished coffee

-

ext M

tle girls dreamed of. There were no flowers, no music, no adoring guests. Just gray walls, pape

-a white cotton piece that clung slightly to her damp skin. The morning rain ha

ecisely on time, wearing a crisp dark suit that seemed almost too fine for an aging m

g for the official to complete their paperwo

nd the desk muttered, bar

ning his name with an elegant s

nly a second. Then, with

as d

, pushed them across the desk,

f the significance of this moment. To him, they were

, it was somethi

longer Sera

w Seraphin

in practice. A prisoner in

as already moving, adjusting the cuff o

he murmured. "It's

o

t a shiver d

rld she was walking into. But i