Noah.
The soft footfalls of the three quadruplets slowly faded down the stone corridor, their light banter echoing off the high ceiling until silence returned to the hallway.
I leaned my head back against the cold wall opposite the sitting room door, my fists clenched so tightly at my sides that my knuckles bled white.
I had been standing there the entire time. I had heard every single word through the thick oak wood. I heard Davian's smooth, cocky teasing, Damien's quiet, hopeful persistence, and Aidan's deep, unyielding declaration. I heard them corner her, pressure her, and demand her hand in marriage as if she were a prize they had won simply by surviving the siege.
And most of all, I heard the faint, playful affection in Maria's voice as she fought them off.
