Jake looked past his father to where Amity had disappeared. The choice stretched before him—return to the ballroom and the life that had been planned for him since birth, or follow the woman who had shown him a glimpse of something authentic.
"I can't do this anymore," Jake said finally. "Not tonight."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away, ignoring his father's commands to return. The deck's narrow staircase led down toward the lower levels of the ship where the crew quarters were located.
Jake had never ventured below the passenger decks before. The contrast was immediate and stark—narrow hallways instead of grand corridors, functional lighting instead of chandeliers, and the subtle but unmistakable hierarchy of a world designed to serve rather than be served.
A c
