m, a cup of tea untouched beside her, a

e showing surprise at my early, unannou

it? You look like

s together to stop

need to talk to y

concern. She gestured t

Sit down. Wh

e suffocating reality of it, the certainty I felt that it was more than just a dream. I didn

ilt," I finished, my voice t

oncern to a kind of troubled stillness. The Vanderbil

's not a small thing to break. The Vanderbilts are... well, you know who they are. Your uncle,

d more like a sob. "It's a nightmare. He's cruel

g up her cold teac

anxious about a big life change. But Ethan... he' s a

aning forward. "Please, you have to believe me. This

a flicker of something, perhaps a memory of my father, h

ormous scandal. It would offend the Vanderbilts deeply. There would be

as my ally, I knew, but she was also pragma

s career, or my life? Because I'm telli

o the window, looking out

tell him about your distress. But Ava, you must understand, he is a practica

a desperate resolve hardening wit

The Vanderbilts do not take slights lightly. And Ethan..

new better