e and presenting an ornate, velvet-lined wooden box to her. Inside the box rested sev

n her past life, her fingers immediately brushed against the tampered silver ball. It wasn't perfectl

anding it over, she would step right back into J. C.'s meticulously crafted trap. She would bind herself to a ma

rved into a fain

antic rhythm of anticipation. Soon, he would marry Aurore Henson. With the vast resources of the Henson Group at his dis

ed the fake diamond. But instead of pulling that ball out, she let it drop heavily back into the pile. She swirled her hand ar

ere. She didn't open it herself. Instead, she turned and handed it to her father,

passed away five years ago, Arthur had buried himself entirely in his work to cope with the grief. Years of long hours and endless business banq

y as he had before the tragedy and bankruptcy ruined

and his thick eyebrows drew together in immediate concern.

suring smile to mask her overwhelming emotions. "Noth

sounded as though she was simply impatient to finally make their secret engagement official.

heir respective parents all stared in breathless, suffocating anticipation. The dining room was so quiet one could hear a pi

t across the far end of the table and calmly picked up a crystal glass of water.

a soft click. He pulled out the tightly rolled slip

ink. His eyes widened, and he blinked hard,

sn't

n't Ju

n't Za

Kane Da

ted ruler of the Davenport Empire, the man who held the entire family's fate i

more than six years older than Aurore, fearing a generational gap would lead to an unhappy marri

e was thirty-one, a full nine years older than Aurore. He had

was. His name,

to the Davenport patriarch, Cornelius, and his wife, Madam Davenport. The two

tered, his deep voice

m erupted in a collec