Chapter Nine

They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about what they could do for Leah. Francesca noticed that Ray had turned his right hand over and was absently running his thumb over the back of the three-headed dragon tattoo that had been inked on his wrist since he was sixteen.

Francesca looked at Ray contemplatively. “What would you do if you were Leah?” She asked Ray quietly.

Ray’s head snapped in Francesca’s direction. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then he quietly asked, “What do you mean?”

Francesca shook her head at him. “Come on, Ray. You’re always asking me what I would do in certain situations and telling me that I’m the only one who can understand what you are going through. I am asking you now: What would you do if you were Leah in this situation?”

Ray bit his lower lip and chewed on it for a second. “I would do whatever it took to end the war peacefully. And if that meant marrying someone I wasn’t in love with, then so be it.” He looked away from Francesca,