Chapter 4

I knelt among the shattered remains of my mother's treasures, my fingers tracing the delicate blue and white patterns of the Ming dynasty vase—now reduced to jagged fragments. The weight of what I'd lost crushed against my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"I'll buy you new ones," Dexter said, hovering in the doorway. His voice held the same casual dismissal Persephone had shown earlier. "They're just objects, Maia. They can be replaced."

I looked up at him, this man I'd planned to marry, and saw nothing of the person I thought I knew. "Just objects?" My voice cracked. "These…