“Fifty million dors or 1 have to go back to Stormhollow as an Omega servant?” I breathed.


    “Those are his terms.” Jane folded her arms. Her expression was pale and grim; I knew that look all too well because it was one I’d seen in the mirror many times. It was a look that said that my father hadn’t left any room for negotiation.


    I looked at Alexander. “We have to do something. We can’t just leave my mom there.”


    “I know,” Alexander replied tightly. “I’ll start making calls. See how quickly I can pull together the money.”


    “But we don’t have fifty million,” I said. “Do we?”


    He hesitated. “Not liquid. I’d have to sell properties, liquidate investments. It would take time.”


    “How much time?”


    “Too much time.”


    I thought about the picture of my mother, her bruised and bloodied face. She was an older woman–strong in will, perhaps, but not necessarily in body. My father would continue hurting her until we caved or she did. Even waiting a single day could kill her.


    “I’ll go,” I whispered.


    Alexander’s arms tightened around me. “Absolutely not. I am not breaking up with you and sending you back there as his personal ve.”


    Jane cleared her throat. “There is another option. Fake the breakup. Make it public, convincing. E could go to Stormhollow temporarily as an Omega to appease Richard. Then, once Lilith is released, we’ll figure out a way to get E out and announce that the whole thing was a misunderstanding or something.”


    “Absolutely not.” Alexander’s voice was sharp.


    “Alexander-“I started.


    “No.” He turned to face me fully. “You’re not going back there. You’re not putting yourself in his hands.”


    “But my mom-


    >>


    “We’ll find another way.”


    I pulled away from him. “What other way? You just said it would take time to get the money. My mom doesn’t have time!”


    “Then we’ll figure something else out,” Alexander said curtly. “But I’m not sending you back to Stormhollow to be his fucking servant.”


    “It wouldn’t be real!” I shot back. “It would just be temporary. Just until we get my mom out. I can handle it. I’ve handled worse.”


    Chapter 42sh


    +25 Bonus


    “You think Richard wouldn’t make you suffer there?” Alexander growled. “You think he wouldn’t take every opportunity to torment you? You were always nothing more than a cash cow to him, E; he’s only doing any of this because he’s furious that you cut off his supply of money. Not to mention what happened to Margaret.”


    “So what, you’d rather my mom suffer instead?”


    The words hung in the air between us. Alexander flinched like I’d pped him.


    “I don’t want either of you to suffer,” he whispered.


    “My mom is being tortured because of me. Because she’s my mother. And you won’t let me do the one thing that could save her.”


    “The one thing that would destroy you, you mean.” Alexander ran a hand through his hair. “Your reputation would be ruined, E. Completely. If we announce that you’re a fraud, that you’re not really you, then even if wee cleanter, no one will ever believe you again.”


    “I don’t care about my reputation! My mom is more important than my fucking reputation!”


    “And what about when Richard starts treating you like a ve? What about when he hurts you? Because he will, E. You know he will.”


    “We’lle up with a n. Just like we always do. I’ll escape. I’ll do something. Anything.”


    Alexander’s jaw clenched, and he looked away, shaking his head.


    “What?” I asked.


    He hesitated for a long moment as if struggling with how to respond. Finally, he said in a low voice, “You always do this, E. You make your own ns, run off on your own adventures without thinking about the consequences. <i>If </i>you had just stayed homest night instead of sneaking off to Stormhollow with your mother, none of this would have happened.”


    I felt like he’d punched me in the gut. “So this is my fault now?”


    “That’s not what I-” He stopped, closed his eyes, took a breath. “I need some air.”


    Before I could respond, he turned and walked out of the room. Jane gave me an apologetic look and followed him.


    I stood there alone in the foyer, my hands shaking. Tears burned behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. He was wrong. He had to be wrong.


    But what if he wasn’t?


    What if this really was my fault? What if I had just stayed home, just trusted the resistance to handle things on their own<b>, </b>my mother would be safe right now?


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    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.