ra's

d. He dismissed the servants with a sharp wave of h

ith the top two buttons undone, he poured himself a glass of ice water. He drank i

one heavy with disappro

olded neatly in my lap. I simply wat

e, leaning forward. "Bringing up the matter of a consort in front of the se

and a legal possibility," I re

ment before letting out a hea

dopting a manipulative tone. "But we are just friends. As for what happened

fering me a sli

cold, mocking laugh escaped my lip

the problems between us stem s

usion clouding his eyes.

been married for a year. Every single month, you have your person

d you really think I would stay ignorant of the

t was the visceral shock of a man whose darke

mmered, his voi

of our marriage while chemically sterilizing me. He ensured I remained barren, all to keep h

e to defy your family's arrangements. You lack the spine to give the woman you love a pr

frame began to tremble slightly, his careful

king point, the door burst open. A frant

she was riding in the paddock, her hor

rom the devastating exposure of his sins. Now, all of that guilt was ins

cold, laced with a flicker of irrational resentment-as

d from the room, leaving our con

ile touched my lips. Even after having his darkest sins exposed, his every instinct still drove him fran

. Gideon would cling to his pride and the political advantages of our union. He would fight my deman

path. I needed a force capable of cru

pen the drawer to take out a c

keeping me caged, I would make a deal with the devil himself. I would se

ragon