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“Earlier, I was a fool who’d have done anything for the ust and pity for that woman My skin crahen I think that I stayed all these years Does that satisfy you? Or do you want me to prostrate myself before you’re ready to believe me?”

His gaze enco the idea of her prostrating herself By sheer will, she stood still under that assessing gaze

“You’re angry and eive him and crawl back to him—”

“Listen to my proposal first Then make your decision”

She was so tired ofher, owning her joys and her sorrows

First her father and then Jackson

So tired of losing herself, again and again The irony of appealing to anotherhim see her darkest fears, a man as a hundred times more powerful and ruthless than Jackson or her father, wasn’t lost on her

But Jackson had been wrong She still had one avenue left and she was going to throw herself into it

“Do you want to expose Jackson’s reality to the world?”

So of his rigid stance He was hooked For the first tie of positivity fill her

“Throwing ais far reat deal of my actual involvement”

“But you’ll do it,” she said, forcing confidence into her tone

Heat flared in his gaze at the vehe him to cut her down

“Why?”

“Because I saw it in your face tonight just as you sahatever you did in mine