nket draped over her legs. She looked pale and beautiful, like a tragic heroine from a Vic

r dry eyes with a silk handkerchief. "A rare condition. They s

spot a forged Monet from a hundred paces, was completely fooled by Olivia's third-ra

se, my darling," she vo

ry, and fed her soup, all while casting sympathetic, yet patronizing, glances in my di

tically sniffing a rose he'd brought her. "Eleanor is, understandably, redirecting her reso

ecting me to agree.

still work for everyone. A perfect solution. We'll postpone our engagement, of course.

he'd slapped me

elping her, supporting the family. It will show your grandmother your character, your h

ss. He wasn't just postponing my dream; he was trying to twist it into a tool for

She called me into her study, the room where she made all her most i

He has a kind heart. He suggested you become Olivia's compani

to be Olivia's nursemaid?" The wor

"Is your painting more important than your cousin's life? The funds for

en liquidated to pay for a phantom illness. I felt a col

"and Olivia had a chance to go to a prestigious academy, would you as

unspoken rule of the house: that I was the dependable one, the one who could be

blotchy red. She was cornered by her o

eful! After everything this family has given you, you only think of yourself! Oli

e same sacrifice of Olivia. In that moment, her bias was laid bare, a raw and ugly thing that had shaped my entir