Clara wrapped both hands around the warmth.
“Now I understand you can love someone and still refuse the life they built for you.”
They stood together as harbor lights appeared one by one.
Years earlier, Adrian had given Clara an emerald ring and told her it meant nobody could touch her.
He had been wrong.
Protection was never a ring, a powerful surname, a locked gate, or a dangerous man promising to stand between her and the world.
Protection was knowing the truth and being allowed to choose what came next.
Clara looked down at her bare hand.
For the first time, it did not look empty.
It looked free.
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