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“You’ve accomplished so much, Henrik.” Her pretty green eyes shine. “I’m so proud of you.”

“We did it together.”

“Yes.” She drapes her arms over my shoulders as her eyes stray to my knight’s seal.

It rests in a glass case—a memento of our past.

“Do you ever wish things had turned out differently?” she asks. “That you’d become a knight instead of our duke marshal?”

I study the seal before I answer.

Clover and I met at a crossroads in our lives, destined for different futures. But instead of continuing down our individual roads, we joined hands and fought for a new dream, becoming stronger as a team. We left old goals behind and forged our own path—a better path.

“Never.”

I dismiss the seal and kiss Clover, abundantly thankful for this new future we’ve been given.

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