Alice snapped her head toward him, her cold eyes blazing.
“Marriage?!” she spat, her voice trembling with indignation. “Don't flatter yourself!”
Michael chuckled under his breath, clearly entertained by her fury.
But then he saw the way her hands clenched into fists, the tightness in her jaw, the faint tremor in her voice.
This wasn’t pride.
It was desperation.
“Michael.” Her voice cracked. “I have something serious to discuss with you.”
The humor drained from his face.
Seeing her expression, the raw urgency in her eyes, he dropped his mocking tone, his smirk fading into a quiet seriousness.
Alice exhaled sharply, steadying her trembling hands.
“You were right,” she said, her voice low. “At the shore… when you looked at my grandmother. You said she was sick. That she would die s
