Chapter 4

I crawled an inch toward her.

Behind me, Vivian said calmly, "That's enough for today."

She rose and smoothed her skirt. "There will be more rules tomorrow."

My thoughts dissolved, and I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, Damian was sitting beside the bed with a bowl in his hands.

He scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it, and held it to my lips.

I stared at him, then swallowed without thinking. Bitterness spread across my tongue, followed by enough heat to tighten my throat.

He sighed. "If you had listened from the start, none of this would have happened. You brought all this pain on yourself. Don't worry about the marriage arrangement. I'll step in and settle it."

"I don't need you to."

I turned my face away.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

He set the bowl on the nightstand. "Without me, who do you have left?"

I said nothing and stared at the ceiling.

I was leaving tomorrow anyway. Grandpa would arrange everything.

"Rowan."

Damian frowned. "Are you still throwing a tantrum?"

I rolled onto my side and turned my back to him.

The movement pulled at the wounds across my back, but the pain felt strangely cleansing.

After a long silence, he said, "I'm going to announce an engagement to Serena."

My body went rigid.

"Don't misunderstand. She's being pushed into a business match too, with a man nearly sixty. This is temporary. It will keep her safe. Everyone already knows you're my fiancee, so no one will dare touch you. Once I straighten this out in a few days, I'll come back for you."

I slowly pushed myself upright against the bedframe. A scab split across my back, and I bit down against the pain.

I turned to face him. My lips curved, but my eyes were cold.

"Damian, take your precious Rena and get out."

He shot to his feet. "You—"

"Was I unclear?"

I forced out every word. "Take her and leave."

He stood there staring at me, emotions I could no longer read moving through his eyes.

At last, he turned and walked away.

...

Late that night, I stood at the window and watched Damian open a car door for Serena.

My mouth twisted.

Go. All of you.

My bedroom door suddenly crashed open.

Gordon Barrett loosened his tie and looked me over through narrowed eyes.

I grabbed the brass fireplace poker beside the bed. "Get out."

He laughed and took a step closer.

I swung at him, but my arm abruptly lost its strength.

My vision blurred, and my thoughts felt packed with cotton.

The medicine Damian had fed me.

Something had been in it.

"Don't waste your energy."

Gordon approached at an easy pace and reached for my face. "Damian doesn't want you, and your father promised you to me. They agreed to it together. Save your strength. Behave, and you'll live comfortably as my wife."

Hatred exploded through my bones. I bit my tongue until the taste of blood sharpened my mind.

When he lunged, I drove my knee between his legs.

As he folded over, I snatched the lighter that had fallen from his pocket.

The curtains caught immediately.

Gordon cursed while clutching himself. I spun and ran through the open door.

The house manager charged upstairs toward the fire, and I slipped past him into the night.

I called my grandfather, my voice barely more than a rasp. "Grandpa, I'm behind Hawke Estate..."

"Hold on, sweetheart. I'm sending someone now."

I collapsed in the grass as consciousness began slipping away.

Through my blurred vision, I saw one figure running toward me against the light.