LOGINElira’s POV Ronan had already shown me the letter two days earlier, quietly, in the privacy of his study, giving me the chance to explain before he decided what to make of it. I’d told him plainly that I hadn’t written it — that the handwriting, close as it was, carried small inconsistencies I recognized immediately as forgery rather than my own hand, the particular slant of certain letters slightly too deliberate, too careful, the way handwriting looks when someone is copying rather than simply writing. The sentiment inside it bore no resemblance to anything I’d actually said or felt, and I told him so plainly, watching his face for whatever reaction might follow. He’d studied the letter for a long moment, then studied me, and something in his expression had suggested he wanted to believe me even before I finished explaining. “I believe you,” he’d said finally, quiet, though something uncertain still lingered beneath the words. “I don’t know who wrote it. But I don’t think it wa
Selene's POV I heard about Theron's letter before I fully understood what it meant, the household's ordinary gossip network carrying fragments of the news faster than anyone bothered confirming the full details with me directly. One of the kitchen staff mentioned it first, in passing, while helping arrange flowers for the evening meal — something about a formal letter Lord Theron had sent to his own father, something about withdrawing consideration of an alliance. I'd nodded along, keeping my expression carefully neutral, and excused myself the moment I could manage it without appearing to rush. He'd written to his father. Formally. Withdrawing any consideration of the alliance our families had spent months quietly, carefully building toward. I sat with the news in my own room, understanding, slowly and with mounting discomfort, exactly what it actually represented. Not a delay. Not careful diplomatic hedging while he sorted through complicated feelings. A complete, deliberate
Selene's POV I heard about Theron's letter before I fully understood what it meant, the household's ordinary gossip network carrying fragments of the news faster than anyone bothered confirming the full details with me directly. One of the kitchen staff mentioned it first, in passing, while helping arrange flowers for the evening meal — something about a formal letter Lord Theron had sent to his own father, something about withdrawing consideration of an alliance. I'd nodded along, keeping my expression carefully neutral, and excused myself the moment I could manage it without appearing to rush. He'd written to his father. Formally. Withdrawing any consideration of the alliance our families had spent months quietly, carefully building toward. I sat with the news in my own room, understanding, slowly and with mounting discomfort, exactly what it actually represented. Not a delay. Not careful diplomatic hedging while he sorted through complicated feelings. A complete, deliberate
Selene's POV I heard about Theron's letter before I fully understood what it meant, the household's ordinary gossip network carrying fragments of the news faster than anyone bothered confirming the full details with me directly. One of the kitchen staff mentioned it first, in passing, while helping arrange flowers for the evening meal — something about a formal letter Lord Theron had sent to his own father, something about withdrawing consideration of an alliance. I'd nodded along, keeping my expression carefully neutral, and excused myself the moment I could manage it without appearing to rush. He'd written to his father. Formally. Withdrawing any consideration of the alliance our families had spent months quietly, carefully building toward. I sat with the news in my own room, understanding, slowly and with mounting discomfort, exactly what it actually represented. Not a delay. Not careful diplomatic hedging while he sorted through complicated feelings. A complete, deliberate
Selene's POV I heard about Theron's letter before I fully understood what it meant, the household's ordinary gossip network carrying fragments of the news faster than anyone bothered confirming the full details with me directly. One of the kitchen staff mentioned it first, in passing, while helping arrange flowers for the evening meal — something about a formal letter Lord Theron had sent to his own father, something about withdrawing consideration of an alliance. I'd nodded along, keeping my expression carefully neutral, and excused myself the moment I could manage it without appearing to rush. He'd written to his father. Formally. Withdrawing any consideration of the alliance our families had spent months quietly, carefully building toward. I sat with the news in my own room, understanding, slowly and with mounting discomfort, exactly what it actually represented. Not a delay. Not careful diplomatic hedging while he sorted through complicated feelings. A complete, deliberate wit
Selene's POVI heard about Theron's letter before I fully understood what it meant, the household's ordinary gossip network carrying fragments of the news faster than anyone bothered confirming the full details with me directly. One of the kitchen staff mentioned it first, in passing, while helping arrange flowers for the evening meal — something about a formal letter Lord Theron had sent to his own father, something about withdrawing consideration of an alliance. I'd nodded along, keeping my expression carefully neutral, and excused myself the moment I could manage it without appearing to rush.He'd written to his father. Formally. Withdrawing any consideration of the alliance our families had spent months quietly, carefully building toward.I sat with the news in my own room, understanding, slowly and with mounting discomfort, exactly what it actually represented. Not a delay. Not careful diplomatic hedging while he sorted through complicated feelings. A complete, deliberate withdra







