“Please.” Dante reached for the gold hem of my gown. His fingers stopped short of it.
He pulled a velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a copy of my ring design, the Falcone crest intertwined with the Vance *V*.
“I had it made.” His hand shook as he pushed the box across the marble. “Elara, I love you. I was blind. Take everything I have. Take my life. Just come back.”
I looked at the ring. The jeweler had copied every line of my sketch, including the intertwined crests.
I stepped back.
“You never loved me, Dante.”
“I do. I swear I do.”
“You loved having me at your command. I ran your accounts, planned your wars, and took bullets without asking anything from you. That is what you want back.”
I crouched and pushed the ring box toward his knee.
“You’re grieving your p
