Chapter 24: The Line Between
The evening settled quietly over the estate.
Too quiet.
Monica stood on the balcony just outside her room, the night air cool against her skin.
The gardens stretched endlessly below—
perfectly kept.
Perfectly controlled.
Just like everything else here.
She rested her hands lightly on the railing, her thoughts drifting despite herself.
Back to earlier.
To him.
To the way he looked at her.
The way he touched her.
Monica exhaled slowly, closing her eyes.
“…This is getting complicated,” she whispered.
“You think so?”
Her eyes opened instantly.
She didn’t need to turn.
She already knew.
But she did anyway.
Prince Alexander Montclair stood just inside the open doors, his presence as calm—and as impossible to ignore—as ever.
“You have a habit of a
