I kept my face pressed against the cool passenger window, watching the city disappear and the massive, iron gates of the Donovan estate come into view.
My chest was so tight it felt bruised. Every part of me was screaming that I had just traded my dignity, but as the car pulled up to the grand stone porch, there was no turning back.
Noel killed the engine. The sudden quiet in the car was deafening. He didn't say a word, just reached across the console and squeezed my trembling hand once before getting out to grab my bags.
When he pushed the massive double front doors open, it felt crowded with eyes.
Word must have traveled fast through the house that Noel had gone to get me, because the second we stepped onto the marble floor, the entire household seemed to freeze.
A collective gasp rippled through the hallways. Maria and two of the younger maids stood near the dining room entrance, glaring as "charity case" walk back in. Noel was carrying my luggage right behind me.
"Eli?"
