Chapter 41Steph
Oh, oh. Without saying a single word, Steph apparently had struck a nerve. Annika had turned away and was wiping at her face with jerky movements, but even so, Steph could see the tears streaming down.
“I didn’t—”
“Go away! I don’t need your help or anybody else’s. I’m an adult woman with a good education. I have a very nice apartment and a great job with lots of responsibilities.”
“We all need other people, even the emperor of China. Not because, well, we need need them. Life is just better when you’re not all alone.”
Annika spun around, her face furious. Hay dust and grime from the morning with the horses had mixed with her tears and left her cheeks with streaks of questionable origin.
“That’s what you think of me then? That I’m this pitiful, lonely woman, hitting o
