Love is complicated.

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Especially when you’re second in line to a throne, and her family plays politics like blood sport.

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At her debut, Winifred Batista is barely more than decoration. A pawn in dull silk, surrounded by men who want power, not her.

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But I see her. I always have.

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If they catch on to me, they’ll use her as a bargaining chip. I refuse to let that happen.

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Her spirit has been quieted, but not broken. Time away from their voices to hear her own is what she needs. Only then will she be free to choose.

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I ask for one dance. Steal her into the garden. Kiss her before she can talk herself out of it. Then make a promise I intend to keep.

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Her future belongs to her alone. No one else. I’ll wait as long as she needs to find her way. But when she claims her future, will there be room for me in it?