Page 33

I actually have the day off.

Nathaniel Vexley ordered it.

That thought makes my stomach flutter, and I hate myself a little for enjoying it.

I need to focus.

First things first. I have to get the five hundred dollars to my mom. I open the door to my room, my breath catching as I look under my pillow.

A sigh of relief escapes me. The money is still there, but still no extra five hundred.

I can’t worry about that now. No dress has arrived yet, but Nathaniel probably hasn’t gotten to that. In the meantime, I can see my mom and give her the money.

I close my eyes.

God forgive me.

I’m keeping the money.

Not for me.

For her.

10

NATHANIEL

On my thirteenth birthday, my father calls me into his office.

It sits at the heart of Vexley House and looks more like a throne room than a place of business. Heavy curtains frame tall windows that overlook the front drive and the gates beyond it. A fire burns low in the marble hearth even though it isn’t cold. Above the mantel hangs an old portrait of some Vexley ancestor with a sword at his hip and arrogance in his eyes.

My father sits behind his desk, his dark eyes serious. His eyes are the first thing I remember noticing about him as a kid. They’re so dark brown that they’re nearly black. Cold and black.

“Close the door, Nathaniel.” He gestures to the chair opposite him.

I sit.

“You’re becoming a man,” he says.

I don’t know how to respond, so I nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Your body will begin making demands of you, if it hasn’t already.”

Heat rises up my neck. I look at the edge of his desk.

“Nathaniel. When I speak to you, you look at me.”

I snap my gaze back to him. “Yes, sir.”

“Have you begun to notice girls?”

My face burns. If I could disappear into this chair, I would. “I don’t⁠—”

“Don’t lie.”

I swallow. “Yes.”

“Girls at school?”