a raw whisper. She dropped the petition on

e that had always lived behind his eyes when he looked at he

Daphne, don't be upset," she said, her voice dripping with fal

out like a peace off

"I don't want your pity," she hiss

sharp, but she ba

ng forward. The heavy moonstone pendant dropped with a precision that felt almo

g liquid, slow and deliberate, like a dancer completing a rehea

di

tely plunged her hand into the bro

bloomed across her pale skin like a terrible flower. She looked at Damian,

her injured hand in both of his with a gentleness that looked almost reverent. He didn't shou

od, D

look at her w

, her voice trembling exquisitely. "It w

The more she defended Daphne,

in, his eyes filled with a tenderness that made it hard for Daphne to br

nt Sinai," he said, already moving towa

ve Daphne a

he floor, where the moonstone necklace lay abandoned on the marble. The stones caught the chandelier'

d at the

stepped

doors slid sh

dn't picked it up. The gift he had given Isabelle just hours ago, t

k. The world tilted. Her body went

nstone necklace, its soft glow ref

Mrs. Haskin's voice, callin

is wasn't Mount Sinai. The fluorescent lights and the distant wail of a siren told her

tting by her bed,

" Daphne's voic

Sterling took Miss Reed to Mount Sin

landed l

"Ma'am," she began, her voice low. "Do

shook h

other. Mrs. Eleano

stared

Mr. Sterling had to marry you, and remain married for five years

, of rejection, of wondering what she had done w

ut Mr. Sterling... he has always believed that you knew about the codicil

ing resentment. He saw her as a blackmailer. A

Her love, her efforts, her pain-th

he five ye

ssive word, every cruel act sudd

ed and traced a cold path down her temple,