Marigold giggled, her little voice dropping into something almost theatrical, like she'd rehearsed this a hundred times and loved every single run of it.
"Daddy is busy, but daddy loves Marigold so much." Her fingers counted each line like she was ticking off something sacred. "Everything he's doing is for Marigold. Marigold is the one who inherits everything daddy is preparing. Daddy is preparing Marigold to take care of everything in the future because he loves Marigold so much."
The words came out clean, polished, perfect. Not like a child reciting a bedtime prayer. Like someone who actually believed it deep in her bones.
Voren's whole face glowed with warmth. That hard, unreadable mask he always wore cracked open, a laugh came out of him. Not a polished laugh. Not the kind he used in boardrooms or at galas when something mildly amusing was said.
