I

days

Estate

e butler, called out just as I w

I had bigger things to worry about than whateve

into my father's company and learn how to "take charge" of a business I was already well-

e him a sharp lo

forehead, looking like he'd just run a mar

ied to for a few days now, and still didn't eve

arply. "What

asn't... she hasn't left her room since she arrive

uldn't help but feel a wave of annoyance. W

oyance. "She locked herself in a ro

We leave it there every day, and she picks at i

g. "She can't speak, Richard. So that's not a pro

roblem if she wants to lock herself away.

see him standing there, lost in thought, still probably trying to figure out what to do with his "new lady of

gs I had to do. Meetings, reports, some inane introductions, mostly just ceremonial fluff, nothing that actually requir

nce, every moment a calculated step in a sh

reeting royalty. I barely glanced at them as I walked past, not caring for their rehe

cing at his watch like I hadn't just spen

o his usual spiel about the day's agenda, department heads, managers, assistants, introductions to a sea of names I'd forget t

Or was it simply her way of dealing with being thrust into a situation she didn

on me. And yet, she was the one hiding in her room like a child throwing a tantrum. Not that it mattered, though.

ing through my thoughts like a blade. I looked up to fin

ite smile. "Of course, Father," I said, though

I walked out of the building and got into my car, my mind wandered back to the

his face, something shifted inside me. He had that same look he'd had when I left that morning, the one that said something was

d slowly, his express

e weight of an obligation I never as

lway seemed longer now, darker somehow. When I reached her door, I hesitated. What

at first. "It's

le

now what your problem is, but this is my house too. If y

l no

e doorknob and turned. I

. It was faint at first, but as I entered, it became str

nd the sight that greeted

the