I turned toward him, though I kept my eyes fixed on the ground. The earth was damp with frost, and the scent of pine sap hung thick in the stillness of morning. Even though I could understand not being proud of his parentage, he still could’ve told me. I thought we were close enough that he would have shared such things with me. Even if he had tricked me, he had also saved my life.
“Laurel,” Baron said earnestly, “I never meant to deceive you.”
“That is a load of rot and you know it!” The words erupted before I could stop them. So much for calm reasoning. “You hid it from me for months! Were you ever going to tell me?”
He flinched. “It’s not something I’m proud of.”
My throat tightened painfully. “So when I said we should run away, did you picture some perfect little picture where I never found out? Did you assume you could spin some story and I’d believe it?”
“I don’t want to be defined by my genealogy,” he insisted, voice cracking with intensity. “I’m still the same person you know.”
“But…your father is…” No word felt bad enough to describe the hatred I had for the sheriff. “My mother is dead because of him.”
“I know.” Baron's voice sharpened, defensive and pleading all at once. “And I’m sorry that happened, but I had nothing to do with it. You know I wouldn’t condone anything like that.”
“But you stayed.”
“Yes,” he snapped, frustration finally bleeding through. “I stayed. I was eight years old, Laurel,eight.I had no mother, no home, no one. He was my only option, and I—” His voice broke slightly. “I thought if I did exactly what he wanted, maybe he’d care. Maybe he’d treat me like a son instead of just another person to command.”
The wind rustled the branches above us and sunshine filtered down to melt away the last remnants of frost clinging to the ground. Baron scrubbed his hands through his hair, pacing once before turning back to me.
“It took me years to understand he’ll never see me as anything but a tool,” he said quietly. “I’ve been trying to distance myself from him ever since. Bearing his name feels like a curse, and one I’ve wanted to shed since I was old enough to know better. I don’t want to be him. I would hate myself if I was. I choose you, Laurel.”
My chest constricted, an ache swelling up from somewhere old and bruised. I blinked to keep tears at bay, but they pushedthrough anyway, hot against the cold morning air. My throat felt choked up, and I swallowed hard, trying to force away this sudden surge of emotion, but it didn’t work. A sob broke free, then another, until they all burst forth.
Without hesitation, Baron stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. I sank against him, desperate to feel the safety and comfort I always did around him.
His tunic grew damp beneath my face, but he held me as if none of that mattered. One hand braced protectively between my shoulder blades; the other gently cradled the back of my head, his thumb brushing soothingly at my hairline. He simply held me and let me drain the tears I’d held back for so long.
“I’m here,” he whispered. “Laurel, I’m here.”
I pressed my forehead to his chest, choking on a fresh wave of sobs. I had wanted so badly to hate him, to blame him, and to hurl insults at him for tricking me. But in his arms, I couldn’t. Crying felt like releasing months’ worth of helplessness, fear, and frustration, everything I’d buried since the moment I’d been captured.
“You were kind to me,” I whispered when my sobs finally slowed. I pulled back, looking somewhere in the vicinity of his stubbled chin as I wiped my wet face on my sleeves. “Even when I didn’t deserve it.”
“Everyone deserves kindness and I told you I’d never hurt you," Baron murmured. "I meant it, you know.”
I turned my head up to look up at his eyes, vision still blurred. “Did he beat you?” I asked quietly. “I heard the guards talking.”
His shrug was almost careless. “Nothing too bad. Just…the usual. I’ve gotten used to it.”
My stomach twisted. How could anyone become used to that? He had been so small. So alone. In a different way, he had been just as trapped as I’d been, only much, much longer.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have?—”
“No.” He cut me off. “Don’t blame yourself for anything he did. This isn’t on you. It never was. And it wasn’t just happening because of you. It’s been happening my entire life.” He hesitated, then tried for a smile. “Besides, getting a couple lashes was worth it. Sneeds was right about you being a good kisser.”
I let out a quiet breath of laughter. The sun had risen above the hills, pale gold filtering through the branches, catching on the thin mist between us.
Baron exhaled softly. “I’ll understand if you hate me.”
“I want to,” I admitted. “But I can’t.”
Silence stretched with a thousand unsaid things humming between us.
“Do you still mean it?” he asked finally, voice barely audible. “About wanting to be with me?”
I didn’t respond. How could I? Yesterday morning, I would have said yes without hesitation. But now, everything felt so tangled and fragile. I wanted to trust him. I wanted to believe in him. And I also wanted to protect whatever was left of me that hadn’t already been hurt.
