From Servant to Savior

Ainsley's presen

the west wing, a stark contrast to the sterile, medicinal smell tha

suite adjoining Dorian's. The space that had always been kept em

n's seizures, was to personally oversee his meals and his rooms. Eleanor Steele, his grandmother and

ds I'd heard through the door as I cleaned up the mess. I remembered the sound o

orian's breakfast tray, she was alrea

he one I always sat in when I had to supervise Dorian eating, mak

on her frame, a clear statement of intimacy. She looked up at me as I approached, a lazy, triumphant

n, sharp and sicken

tremor I felt inside. I had prepared his favorite, a simple

," I said, my voice q

. His attention was

the empty chair across the table. It was a clear taunt. Sh

. My hand trembled as I poured Dorian's coffee, and a

cted a sharp reprimand, a cold glare. It w

s too busy laughing at something

but it was distant and cold. "Just l

lips sounded

nd began to dab at the coffee stain, my knuckles brushing against the hot porce

A tiny, insignificant wound in the grand

d, on h

lay next to his plate. Dorian Steele & Ainsley Sandova

second, I saw a flicker of concern, the old, i

you h

stubborn weed, sp

s, and the concern vanished, r

id, his voice flat. "I don't want

n inconvenience. As if my blood wasn't th

years ago, after I'd scraped my knee and tried to tend to one of his c

wn out of that childis

lk handkerchief from the pocket of the shirt-his shirt-and held it out to me. "Here. You s

ear. I was clumsy

a rose bush in the garden, and he had been so gentle, his touch surprising

a lie now. A story f

ndkerchief. I didn't w

from her, his fingers brushing against hers i

t give i

ts precise and uncaring. Then, he tossed the blood-stained handkerchi

My pain, my blood

even looking at me.

onversation as if I had never been there. As if I were jus

ed hand clenched into a fist. The p

aight, my head held high. I did not let them see

ave. I had

on from the floor where it had fallen.

f what I was

ent, empty hallway, that I would