Lina's POV
Panic crawled up my throat. The wall behind me, his body in front of me, the shrinking space between us—it all pressed in too fast. My lungs locked for one terrifying heartbeat.
"Jasper, let go."
His eyes flickered, but he didn't move away. "You can't answer because there is no husband. You belong with me, and they know it. That's why they're trying to take you from me."
"I don't belong to you."
"You did," he breathed, desperate now. "You would have, if they hadn't interfered."
"Get your hands off her!"
Chloe's voice cracked through the garden like a whip.
Jasper turned just as Chloe rushed toward us. She didn't hesitate. She aimed straight for his arm, trying to tear him away from me, but Jasper reacted on instinct. With one brutal shove, he pushed her back.
Chloe stum
