4: The

eighed more than any shout, like the hu

udy. Three weeks since my father delivered the economic death sentence tha

de was watched. I was basically under house arrest, with a per

n outside. Every time a car drove past, I flinched. Every time the heavy oak door op

me grounded was a single,

prayer, a command, and the most dangerous promise Kai could make. It mean

How long could forever last when your hea

nused

nvented an "emergency protocol" based on the assumption my phone would

ds in the descriptions of sheet music or vinyl records. When I compared them to

ord. A tit

ered everything. If I got caught visiting

politely, agreeing to attend the endless array of charity events desig

s like a piece of expensive furniture, and he treated me the same way, admirin

een, Elara," he'd comment during a di

h," or, "Your eyes light up when you talk about

hand on his sleeve, felt like a small act of cruelty t

nd and

shrunk to a single, brutal focus: T

there in spirit. He wasn't around in person, but his large black sedan would drive s

floors until they shone. He tried to prove to Mr. Reynolds, hi

ther-they were looking for communication, not silence was his only protection. But i

sked one night as Kai locked up. "You look like d

e was a summer thing. Didn't work

air cond

umbled, throwing the wrench he w

built with such desperation. He had forced himself to send one final

t. Protect Maya. D

There was too much information. Too much risk. He wa

oney for Maya that he started taking every single junk instrument that came into the

h melodies. He played angry, complicated blues ch

ed in his stomach whenever he pictured her waiting. The Vance had trapped him, making him choose be

ion: The Cu

mantic bond was to replace it with a painful, public memory. during the opening of the Vance Foundation's new wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was th

ng before the private gala. My mother, smiling coldly, told me, "I heard the local college art clubs are bein

clear: If he comes n

tely out of reach, so committed to the Vance future that

ng. Jameson Davies III held onto my elbow. I wore a heavy gold necklace that felt like

en I s

a from the gala area, in the shadow of a massive marble pillar. He was wearing a dark, threadbare jacke

perate, and searching. They locked onto mine, and in

e hum of the crowd-it all vanished. It was just Kai and me, across the velvet

d a silent question: Is

e. Be the wall. I forced myself to become what Ka

ment toward me. He was going to break cover. He

, utterly, immediately, to send

face, I put my hand on Jameson's chest. I lea

r moments like this. I looked at Jameson as if he

d trained me for. I stood on my toes and gave Jameson a theatrical, practiced kiss on the cheek, letting my h

back, the worl

wore, and he flinched as if he'd been hit. The pain in his eyes was sharp, a look of

ng into the anonymity of the public crowd,

Sorrow hit me in waves. I had kept him safe, but lost his heart. I broke t

oblivious, "you are so charming when you're

died in my throat, replaced

chose the gilded cage. I showed Kai

rmath of

miles, the sounds of the city pounding in his ears. The image of E

ch

lara, who loved Chopin and hated lifeless swans, would never have loo

red. He had risked everythi

iew, on a red carpet, with a laug

picked up the battered Telecaster. He didn't play. He

ail account they had set up for eme

d it into his private note

on't look back. Li

Now, the silence was his choice, not something forced on him. The borrowed time was over. The break was final.

f approval. "You looked decisive. That little show with Jameson was excellent

d saw the metric, a perfect

I whispered.

me. I told myself I had saved him. I had broken our bo