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She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it, no, but I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“You do. I’m not here to demand answers.”

She blinked at him. “Then why are you here?”

“I knew something had upset you. I saw you run off, and I was worried about you.”

“You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”

“What do you mean? Why?”

“The plan is over. It looks like you’re off the hook.”

Christopher frowned. “Amber, what are you saying? Who is that man? What did he say to you?”

She shook her head.

Christopher studied her for a moment. “I need to ask something, but you don’t need to answer if you aren’t comfortable with it.”

She nodded.

“Is he the reason you wanted me to ruin you?”

Tears welled in her eyes.

He sighed. “Forget I asked. Like I said, you don’t need to answer. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it might be good for me to finally admit what’s happened.”

“I’m here to listen to whatever you want to say.”

Then they fell silent while he waited for her to speak. For a long time, she was quiet. He was starting to wonder if she was going to say anything at all when she took a deep breath.

“You’re right.”

Christopher was almost surprised to hear her voice, it had been so long. “I thought so. Do you want to talk about who he is?”

“I don’t, but I am going to.”

“You don’t have to push yourself. I understand?—”

“I have to. Just give me a moment.”

He waited.

“He is Lord Gillion, and whether I like it or not, he is the man I am going to marry.”

“But why?”

“Because my cousin owes him money. A lot of money. He can’t afford to pay it back, so I’m going to be the payment.”

Disgust filled Christopher. It was inhumane. He could hardly believe someone would do that to anyone, much less a family member. “You don’t need to worry about that. We’ll ruin you. Then he’ll leave you alone, and you’ll be free.”

She let out a wet chuckle. “It won’t make a difference. He already knows we’ve been sneaking around.”

“What? What did he say?”

“He said he didn’t care. He wanted me, and he would have me end of story.”