Sonya
I followed Caleb out of Erick’s manor, my fingers laced in his, smiling stiffly as we walked past the guards and down the winding stone steps.
My spine remained painfully straight, my chin lifted just enough to keep the last shreds of my dignity intact.
To anyone watching, we must have looked like the perfect couple unified, polished, and professional.
But inside, I was boiling.
Each step toward the car felt like walking through fire.
My stomach twisted, my head pounded, and every heartbeat screamed with the bitter taste of humiliation.
I had knelt.
Knelt, for Sophia.
That low-born, rootless assistant turned… what, exactly?
And Caleb—my Caleb—had just stood there. Watched me crumble without saying a word.
The moment we reached the car, I ripped my hand out of his gri
