Rick stared at Emerald for several long moments, his breath coming in quick gasps. "What is this?" he asked, even though the truth was written plainly across her face. "What's going on, Emerald?"
He could see it in her face. She had sold him out. She had betrayed him. The woman he'd been trying to change for, the one he had just opened his heart to hours earlier.
Rick stood in the centre of his tent, adjusting the collar of his freshly pressed shirt for the third time.
The dinner preparations were nearly complete, and servants bustled around setting up the intimate table he'd requested.
Tonight had to be perfect. Tonight, he would finally make things right with Emerald.
He caught his reflection in the polished surface of a silver tray and paused, studying the man staring back at him.
When had he become so consumed with pride and control? When had he stopped seeing Emerald as the woman he'd fallen in love with and started treating her like a possession to be won?
