LILY
The morning passed too smoothly—no sharp words from Ace, no clipped orders, no tension snapping like a wire pulled too tight. He barely looked at me during breakfast, his attention absorbed by his phone, his posture rigid and contained. If I hadn’t known him better—or at least thought I did—I might have mistaken it for consideration.
By late afternoon, that illusion shattered.
“We’re leaving in ten minutes,” he said, appearing in the doorway of the sitting room where I’d been pretending to read. “Get your coat.”
I looked up, startled. “Leaving? Where?”
“A meeting.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” His tone left no room for argument. “Security protocol.”
My stomach tightened. “Alice—”
“Is not coming,” he cut in. “She’s already accounted for.”
The finality in his voice told me this decis
