The study remained unusually quiet after Xaviere closed the confidential folder, the heavy paper coming to rest on the polished mahogany. Zeraida stood directly opposite his desk, watching him silently with an unreadable expression that defied his expectations.
There was no defensive anger flashing in her dark eyes, nor was she relying on the guarded sarcasm she usually employed whenever their interactions grew too personal. Instead, he observed an unsettling, raw vulnerability resting beneath her calm composure.
"You wanted to understand the real reason I ran away from my family," she said softly into the quiet room.
Xaviere kept his dark gaze firmly fixed on her face, his hands resting flat on the leather desk pad. "Yes, I do."
She turned slowly and walked toward the tall glass windows that overlooked the shadow-draped estate gardens.
