Gabriel waited by the door. I nodded once. “I can handle this.”
He gave Julian room to move, walked out, and closed the heavy door. The latch clicked.
We were alone.
As soon as Gabriel left, Julian blocked the path to the courtyard. The workbench pressed against my back. His face was flushed, and he could not keep still.
“Evelyn, stop this.” The plea still sounded like an order. “You have to come home.”
When I didn’t answer, he paced beside the workbench. “Is this about Serena? She’s fragile. She depends on me, and I can’t abandon her. I thought you were mature enough to understand that.”
I had heard each part before: Serena was fragile, he was responsible, and I was immature for objecting.
Julian stopped pacing. “And for God’s sake, I have been generous. One hundred properties, Eve
