Mag-log inAmber kept struggling until she was finally able to push him away, her whole body tensing with the last burst of effort it took to break free.It was almost too late because that was just the moment Elizabeth and Edward appeared in that same location in the hallway, their footsteps finally catching up to the sound Amber had heard drawing closer only seconds earlier.Amber jumped down from the table quickly, wiping her lips with the back of her hand, her heart hammering in short, uneven bursts like a child caught stealing meat straight out of the soup pot before anyone in the house woke up."Oliver, Amber, what are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she approached them, her eyes narrowing slightly even as her tone stayed carefully neutral."Grandma asked Oliver to take me home." Amber replied, trying hard to hide the tremor still running just beneath her voice, her hands smoothing quickly at the front of her gown.Oliver nodded, smiling quietly to himself, entirely unbothered by how c
"Yes, I am." Amber started saying, her voice breaking under the weight of everything crashing through her mind at once. "I'm engaged to your brother. This is inappropriate! If anyone finds out, I'm dead."Yet all her pleadings and explanations were falling on deaf ears, her words seeming to slide right past him without ever quite landing anywhere that mattered to him at all.Oliver continued smiling and bringing his lips to her neck. Be was entirely unbothered by the panic threading through her voice, as though her fear were simply another texture of the moment he intended to enjoy."Look, I'm grateful that you let me save your grandma earlier, but please I'm begging you." she pleaded, shifting away from him as best she could against the edge of the table pinning her in place. "Just let me go."His lips moved to take hers but she turned her face aside at the last second, her heart hammering fast against her ribs as she strained to keep some sliver of distance between them.The hallwa
The old woman chuckled. "Oliver, you're so full of it." she said teasingly to him, shaking her head slightly as she reached for her water glass.She was clearly enjoying the easy banter between the two of them far more than she was willing to admit out loud.There was something almost girlish in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners whenever her grandson teased her back, as though age hadn't managed to touch that particular part of her at all.She turned to Amber next, her expression softening into something warmer, gentler, the kind of look reserved only for people she'd already decided belonged somewhere close to her heart. "Come back tomorrow and have lunch with me." she said, patting the empty seat beside her as though already looking forward to the company long before the morning even arrived."Of course, Grandma." Amber replied happily, the word settling easier on her tongue with every use, no longer feeling quite so borrowed as it had earlier that afternoon. "But it's late.
The other three women's eyebrows furrowed in shock at what was about to happen. Elizabeth turned sharply to the old woman, her composure slipping for just a moment before she caught it and smoothed it carefully back into place.'Something's off.' The words escaped in whispers inside her, her mind already racing through every possible reason her mother-in-law would want the two of them alone. 'This little bitch is really biting more than she can chew.'She turned to Amber, her eyes filled with venom, the earlier humiliation of the afternoon still sitting fresh and unforgiven behind her carefully arranged face.Everything about the day had gone wrong in ways she hadn't planned for, and now, watching Madame Winchester single out Amber and Oliver together, she felt the last threads of her control slipping further from her grasp.Slowly, everyone began to stand and leave the dining room, chairs scraping softly against the polished floor as the staff quietly moved in to clear away the rema
"What are you doing under the table?" Zoe barked again, noticing how Amber had been moving her hand down toward her lap over and over, her earlier suspicion sharpening into something closer to certainty now.But Amber couldn't answer. She swallowed hard, her whole body shaking, her mind racing for some excuse that refused to come fast enough no matter how hard she reached for one.Then Zoe shook her head and immediately bent forward, ducking her head beneath the table to see for herself exactly what was going on, her chair scraping softly against the floor as she leaned lower.Amber's eyebrows widened instantly, her body shaking harder now, praying silently that Zoe wouldn't find out what had actually been happening this whole time beneath the tablecloth.Her heart hammered fast against her ribs, the seconds stretching unbearably long as she waited for the moment everything would unravel in front of the entire family.Oliver moved fast, taking a fork and slapping it sharply against Zo
Oliver continued smiling as he finally dropped his leg back down. Madame Winchester looked at her grandson and followed his gaze straight to Amber, something knowing settling behind her tired eyes.She smiled faintly, noticing exactly what that particular look could mean.She said nothing about it just yet, choosing instead to let the moment pass quietly between the two of them, content for now to simply watch her grandson's attention linger somewhere it clearly hadn't lingered in years.Amber's face drained of its earlier smile as she suddenly dropped her cutlery, the clatter loud enough to draw a few glances down the table."Amber, my dear." Madame Winchester called, turning to her with warmth still lingering in her voice. "When Cornell returns, obviously you two will marry."Amber lifted her head and forced her eyes into something resembling a smile, nodding politely despite the tension still knotted tight in her chest.Her hands folded quickly back into her lap to hide their trem







