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I want him to hurt. To bleed.

I want him to snap, just like he snapped me.

Once upon a time, my world was small and sheltered. Everything changed the moment I stepped over my Safety Line, barreling towards a coupling with a man I hardly know.

He wants me. All of me.

Dunked in a charged political pit, I must secure the ships needed to quell the spill of murderous beasts still flooding the continent. But one wrong move could spur the war I’ve worked so hard to avoid.

I’ll wear the dress and the cupla and the shoes. I’ll do it all with a smile on my face. Because everyone’s watching.

He’s watching – hunting a fissure in my frosty shield, trying to scrape back the layers and see my ugly insides.

He’s unyielding. Unguarded.

Changed.

Why is he looking now when I’ve got everything to hide?

Secrets sprout, truths bloom, and more than one of us will snap.

Crowned in the crippling weight of my mistakes, I must atone. Even if it costs me my life.

Fear was my overlord. Now, it’s my prisoner.