Modric’s POV
I hated the plan.
That did not mean I intended to stop her.
Those two truths had become strangely familiar since Mary Ann and I began rebuilding whatever existed between us.
The old version of me would have believed disagreement gave me the right to take control. I would have closed the gates, surrounded her with guards, and told myself I was protecting her.
Now I stood across from her inside one of Nightveil’s smaller council rooms while she read through the final terms of the public loyalty trial.
And I tried not to tear the document in half.
“You can still reconsider,” I said.
Mary Ann did not look up.
“You have said that four times.”
“Five.”
That made her glance at me.
“At least you know.”
“I am counting because I am trying not to say it twenty.”
She returned
