A bitter smile touched Amara''s lips. "I''ll think about it," she said softly.


    Elysia knew that not getting an immediate rejection meant Amara was wavering. She smiled. "Okay, you think it over. I''ll let you go for now." She hadn''t expected to convince Amara in one go. A couple of days to mull it over, and she''de around.


    After hanging up, Amara felt even more conflicted. It was true that marrying Keith was the best option for her, but it was hardly the best for him. Keith hadn''t done anything wrong. Why should he be saddled with thebel of a divorcé? He deserved a chance at a perfect life.


    Agitated and unable to settle, Amara found herself staring out the window. On impulse, she decided to go for a walk. She grabbed a coat and headed downstairs, leaving the vi behind.


    The Everly family estate was massive, with the main house nked by two smaller buildings for staff and guests. Below, a sprawling garden was filled with a dazzling array of flowers and nts. Now, in the depths of winter, most of the blooms had withered, leaving the garden looking a bit deste. However, a few hardy winter flowers still offered patches of color. On a whim, Amara borrowed a pair of pruning shears from a gardener and began trimming the nts.


    She rarely did manualbor, but the task wasn''t too strenuous, and after a few minutes, she found it surprisingly enjoyable. Pruning was a skill, however. She managed the simple cuts well enough, but soon found herself at a loss. The gardener had wandered off to another task, and with no one to ask for help, Amara pulled out her phone to look up gardening tips.


    "What are you doing?"


    A calm voice sounded from above her. Amara looked up to see Finnian standing there, looking down at her. It was only a little after four in the afternoon. Why was he home so early? Stranger still, Finnian owned his own apartment but had been spending most of his time at the family estatetely, almost as if he''d moved back in. Amara had a sinking feeling it had something to do with her, a thought she tried her best to ignore.


    "I wanted to try trimming these nts," Amara said. "Mr. Everly, you''re off work early today?"


    "Yes," Finnian nodded. "Finished up early."


    Normally,


    get ahven if his work was done,


    Finnian would stay at the office to


    get ahead on other tasks. But today, the thought of Amara being at home had drawn him back.


    "You''re not doing it right." A faint smile yed on his lips as he saw how she''d managed to trim a perfectly healthy nt down to a


    bare stump. Contentelet


    Amara looked down, embarrassed, but stubbornly insisted, "I just slipped. I know what I''m doing..."


    "Is that so?" Finnian crouched down, his face now very close to hers. "Then why are you looking up how to prune flowers?"


    Her eyes followed his gaze to her phone, where the search page was still open. Her face flushed. "I was just... browsing," she mumbled.


    In Finnian''s memory, Amara had always been rather serious andposed. This disy of


    stubbornness was new, andhe


    found utterly charming He hat


    an


    almost overwhelming urge to reach out, stroke her hair, maybe even pinch her cheek, but he restrained himself.