THE OFFER hung between them, heavy with possibility and promise. It was everything she'd never dared to dream of—safety, acceptance, a place where she could simply be herself without fear or pretense.
You could stay here...
As the words settled in her mind, confusion crept in like shadows at twilight.
"I don't understand," she said slowly, pulling back just enough to search his face. "You're offering me a life here, but... I'm not your wife. I'm not Lailah. I'm the woman who deceived you, who took her place under false pretenses."
Something flickered across Grayson's features—a complexity she couldn't quite read. "You're the woman who saved my life," he corrected quietly. "You're the woman who chose to stay when you could have run. That matters more than any legal document or ceremony."
