The scent of roses clung thick to the air, their sweetness almost mocking.
I reached out, tracing a trembling finger along the velvet petals, but the softness did nothing to ease my bitterness.I had been in the garden longer than I realized—the sky had shifted, shadows stretching across the stone path, unnoticed.I was caught in a maze of thorns and regrets, my life closing around me like the vines coiled along the iron trellises.
“I need to find a way to escape before it’s too late.”
The words slipped past my lips, a whisper lost to the night.
A sliver of hope flickered, fragile against the fortress of my father’s plans.
But fear and uncertainty gnawed at the edges of my resolve—how?When?Who could I trust?
And then?—
Footsteps.
Leisurely.Unhurried.
Drawing closer.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat.
Whoever it was?—
They weren’t supposed to be here.
The garden had been empty moments ago.
I turned slowly, the shadows shifting around me.
“Lady Elizabeth,” a voice murmured from the darkness.Low.Smooth.Dangerous.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Because it wasn’t just any voice.
It was his.
ChapterSix
AMIR
Iremained seated, my posture rigid as the heavy oak door shut with a resounding thud, sealing Elizabeth’s departure from the dining room.
Thomas Alexander’s domain was cold—the cold that seeped into your bones and never left.
Just like the man himself.
The others resumed their banter, oblivious to the injustice that had played out before them.Elizabeth’s humiliation was a trivial spectacle to them, a woman’s place reaffirmed with laughter and condescension.
But I couldn’t shake the image of her retreating.
The slight quiver in her frame.
The way her breath had hitched, just for a moment, before she forced herself to remain composed.
Her father viewed her as chattel, an asset to be bartered and controlled—a tool to strengthen his empire.
But Elizabeth… she was an anomaly.
