Selindra moved closer, her steps measured, her presence composed. When she spoke, her voice was soft—too soft—like silk wrapped around a blade, as she addressed me through the private communication channel reserved for inner-circle members.
“Morwen,” she began, her tone laced with feigned sorrow, “my Danny passed unexpectedly… illness took him faster than we could prepare for. I was devastated, and I asked Don Thorian to stay with me. Please… don’t hold it against us.”
Her words carried a gentle cadence, almost pleading—but her gaze betrayed her. There was something beneath it. A quiet assertion. A silent message that needed no voice: With me, he will always choose to stay.
I let out a faint, humorless breath.
“Oh,” I replied coolly, my face unreadable, “your Don is remarkably loyal.”
Thorian’s expression tightened at once, irritation flickering across his features. I could almost feel the tension radiating from him.
“Morwen,” he snapped, his voice edged with frustration, “can you at least try to be reasonable? Selindra just lost someone important to her, and yet you still find a way to mock her?”
The speed with which he rose to her defense did not go unnoticed.
I turned my gaze toward him slowly—sharp, cutting, enough to make the air between us feel heavier.
Without offering another word, I stepped forward and shoved him aside with a controlled but deliberate force, my hand pressing briefly against his shoulder before I walked past him.
My movements were calm. Precise.
But inside, everything burned.
Thorian remained still for a moment, clearly caught off guard. There was confusion in his eyes—perhaps even disbelief. It might have been the first time he had seen me walk away without anger, without shouting, without breaking down in front of him and Selindra.
I left the estate grounds in silence, each step intentional, measured.
Not long after, his voice returned through the private line—quieter this time, almost cautious.
“So this is about Ashley?” he asked. “Because I didn’t pick her up myself? Is that why you’re still holding on to this? Isn’t this… a bit excessive?”
He had made the mistake, yet somehow, I was the one expected to carry the burden of it.
“Yes,” I answered flatly, my tone distant and stripped of emotion. “Everything is my fault.”
That seemed to unsettle him.
There was a pause—then his voice shifted. Softer now. Less commanding. Almost… apologetic.
“Selindra was in no state to be left alone,” he explained. “Danny’s death hit her hard. I was worried she might fall apart, so I went to her immediately. Ashley… is she upset with me? I’ll make it up to her when I get back. She’s a good girl. She’ll forgive me, won’t she?”
If he had paid even the slightest attention to the operations around him—to the people under his own roof—he would have already known the truth. The silence. The absence. The void where our daughter should have been.
But his focus never strayed far from Selindra.
“You don’t have that opportunity anymore,” I said quietly, turning away once more and shutting him out completely.
Suddenly, his hand closed around my arm.
Firm. Insistent.
“Why are you saying that?” he demanded, confusion bleeding into his voice. “Fine. I’ll handle Ashley myself from now on. I’ll pick her up every day, personally. Just stop dragging this out, Morwen.”
For the first time in years, he was the one bending.
If things had been different—if Ashley were still alive—maybe that small shift would have meant something.
But there was no undoing what had already happened.
“Let’s arrange a time,” I said coldly, pulling my arm free from his grasp. “We’ll finalize everything and end this… arrangement.”
I didn’t wait for his reply.
I walked away without hesitation, without turning back even once.
Behind me, Thorian stood rooted in place, something unfamiliar creeping into his expression. A dawning realization. A sense of something slipping beyond his control.
His frown deepened as he reached for his phone, dialing one of the household staff.
“Amelia,” he ordered curtly, “bring the most expensive doll you can find to Ashley. Tell her to convince her mother to stop this nonsense.”
