By the time I arrived back at the estate, the sun had long slipped behind the hills. My thoughts were still tangled around Eleanor—how pale she’d looked in that hospital bed, how she didn’t even stir when I brushed a thumb across her cheek. I should never have left her. But Mother’s call… something in her voice had sounded urgent enough to drag me back.
The guards at the gate barely had time to salute before I strode past them, straight into the main house.
I entered the grand hall and spotted Emerald waiting by the stairs. Dressed in a sleek lavender gown, she gave me a coy smile and made a subtle gesture as if to approach—but I didn’t slow down for even a second.
Not tonight.
Not ever again.
I headed straight into my mother’s room.
She was already waiting, standing rigidly behind h
