t. "Why are you choosing me? Why would y

lips, though the expression

n't want love. What I need is something practical. Quiet. Controlled. A

hard, her mo

f I re

ort of truly crowding her, yet his pr

And trust me... Meyer is not t

ut it still sent a cold rush through her,

to think?" she said softly

ve a sma

f you did not show up, then I would assume you chose no, and your friend woul

d hard, then n

allowed

urning away. "No one was keepin

ood open, like

p, toward the exit. Just before she cro

rned again, as if the conversation had never matter

ing had changed. If not alrea

*

ght she could not shake. Still, she refused to let her thoughts swallow her w

ctors collecting their things... it all felt distant, like she was standing inside someone else's life. A dull headache lingered

stead of returning inside, she drifted through the streets with no real direction, letting her phone buzz unanswered as her mother and siblings tried to re

tree, its shadow wrapping around her like a shelter. Her ey

fused to st

she abo

ing heavy and inescapable. Morgan was not just a wo

s a Mo

one's daughter. Not o

principles. She was the sister of Aaron, the born commander who never hesitated and never lost control. She wa

here was h

d edges. The one who could never turn away when someone was hurting. The one wh

f was she truly wi

t... just how far would

y that mattered. Sofia could still hear her voice, fragile and shaking, as she begged through t

ing over the sun, Naven's expre

e-calm. Sharp

. He had given her a single afternoo

th it... It

ves who saw her weakness as something to exploit, not prot

ss, Sofia understood someth

ved, it would not be by anyone

with the weight of what came next. The clock

the hotel, her decision had al

pression tightened, and he quickly made a short call to someone behind the scenes. Sofia assumed

as not wha

vy in a black suit, an earpiece pressed into

"Mr. Fort is waiting somewher

lanation. She only gave a

d of leather and something freshly polished, expensive and unfamiliar. As the car began to move, Sofia forced herself to bre

ng toward the quieter edges of the city. Minutes passed i

like an ordinary building. Tall gates. Armed sec

at the sounds drifting through the

tered softly. "Is

rom the main gates. Sofia kept close behind him as they moved into a corridor lined with deep red carpet. The walls were

wo more men stood watch like statues. One of them g

ce leaving the hotel,

organ. Mr. Fort is waiting

tepped

ar view of the racetrack below. Glass tables caught the light. Plush armchairs were arran

d champagne as though it were water. Their laug

o a world built on cold

he murmured, mos

inted toward the back, where a staircas

began t

e as though only certain people were allowed to exist up there. From that height, the racetrack stretched out perfectly in front of

hen she no

around him mattered. He looked effortless in a dark gray suit that fit him like armor, the c

ed through life as though doub

londe hair, a slim figure, a red dress clinging tightly enough to feel deliberate. She lea

, the gesture smooth and practiced. He did not truly look at h

harp unease twisted inside her chest, s

man she was expected