Nathaniel clutched the letter, his mind a storm of chaos.
Sylvia had stepped back, setting him free to chase Lila. Everything was unfolding as he'd once wanted, yet joy eluded him. Instead, his heart felt torn, raw, like a wound ripped open.
The letter slipped to the floor. Richard, seeing Nathaniel's shell-shocked expression, picked it up, suspicion in his eyes. When he read its contents, his face flushed with rage. He swung, landing a sharp slap across Nathaniel's face.
"What the hell have you done?!" Richard roared.
The thirty-three delays of the binding ceremony flashed in his mind—each one tied to Sylvia's pain, her injuries. Richard had always seen Sylvia as half a daughter, his heart breaking for her each time. To learn his own son orchestrated it all? Unthinkable.
Nathaniel's
