~ Gideon ~
I sat in my study, the leather chair creaking as I leaned back. The clock on the mantel read 1:00 AM. Amara's words still hung in the air, even though she had left two hours ago.
"I am done being the price other people pay."
I picked up my pen, then set it down. I reached for the scotch instead. The liquid burned going down, but it didn't erase the look in her eyes. She had been angry. Not the quiet, shrinking anger I was used to. Something sharper.
I told myself she was being dramatic. Overly sensitive. The contract was clear. She had security, status, everything a woman from Linden Row could dream of. And she wanted to throw it away because of a seating chart?
But the way she said her name. Amara Rose Kline. Not Moore. She had never done that before.
My phone buzzed. I i
