old. Below, the harbor ligh
ped pretending, and without the borrowed coldness or the borrowed
you was
. Not the s
going to. The slap rang off the stone,
married to a man who could change. I hoped, Edward. Do you understand what that
kno
brother, not you. Every man in this story has decided what I was for
se him out of fear and hate me out of honesty. I told m
ght that
is l
. "You just wanted to
ething crack in his face, so
wanted to buy it and set you free. He outbid me by two million, and I watched him lo
uld have
kno
ld have a
my family who has ever been gentle with you. My brother will never relea
right about
, from the doorwa
ression at all. Beatrice had no idea how long he had been there-whether he ha
ward her. A shadow that had been there for longer than a moment-long eno
. Watching. Letting
know that my room in Singapore was being held." His lips curved into something that wasn't a sm
was angry; she could see it now, beneath the stillness. A
"Even as a boy. You always wanted what wa
not a
w something flicker behind them. Pain. Betrayal. Possession. "And you knew. You knew, and you
Not until the television. No
ia
not l
being happy." He stepped closer, and she forced herself not to move. "You think I don't know what you are? You're a Hale. You'r
" she asked. "What
dn't
hands clenched at his sides. Sebastian stood in the
e. You signed it, and you took the money, and you took the ring, and you took everyt
know abo
w what I was. And you stayed. You stayed, and you smiled, and you played the perfec
ever t
ldn't h
words at once. She had never heard him say anything a
slowly. "I didn't ask. Be
n his face. Somethi
m not afraid of this house. I'm not your wife. I'm not your contract. I'm not your survivor." She step
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