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The truth was, she was still a little afraid to be truly vulnerable in front of hi hiht that had scarred her forehead and taken her mother from her—it wasn’t such a dramatic story, in itself No arden had been, and it had happened a long tio She had only been twelve at the time But both events had shaped her life, as well as the lives of her sister and her father They’d coether very purposefully around the loss, like trees intertwining as they leaned upon one another Laine had devoted her life to being the support structure to the remains of her fa in their power to ensure that little Emma had all she could need or want in love and security

If he were to ever enerous employer, he would have to understand her family’s importance But, she mused as her cheeks burned in humiliation, he’d essentially shown her that they would never be more than that He didn’t even feel that way toward h with Hadiya, but their relationship did not seem to be like the one Laine had with her sister Frankly, during her time there, Hadiya had become more of a sister to Laine than she was to Aziz

Lost in thought, Laine hurried back to her office A strong hand caught her wrist and jerked her still forcefully

“You little American slut!” Amin spat at her

Laine blinked up at hination “What?”

“I saw you, harlot, through the ! Bending over to Aziz, spreading your filthy legs, and not evenand his jaw held rigid “How dare you come into our home and so brazenly spread your sin?”

Laine pulled her hand back, but could not free herself “Aziz was hardly co”

“You are singlehandedly bankrupting our family of our traditions!”

On an instinctual level, Laine was afraid Aht of his brother, but he was larger than she by a few inches On a rational level, however, she laughed

“I’rain of sand to destroy this utterly fucked-up machine?”

He smacked her Hard She touched her cheek and blinked dizzily