The Heir and His False Queen

suggested Ava sit next to Ethan, engage him in conversation, look interested. Ethan remembered Ava's face, a brief flash of something unreadable before her po

ver imagined she was performing, hiding a deep resentment, or worse

stab of pain. That care, that attention, was what he had craved from her. She'd b

sanity in the chaos. One pre-scheduled event remained: a charity polo match. Ethan and Ava were s

me, the thud of hooves, the crack of the mall

igging suddenly went slack. He felt a sickening lurch, then air, the

figure, her attention on Liam, who was complaining about the sun in his eyes. She wa

arrived moments later, her face a mask of

Are you

. Broken arm, concussion. That

cloying, uncharacteristic. She fluffed his pillows, brought him water, spoke

gh her personal things with a quiet efficiency that his father had praised. Et

r to his room was slightly ajar. He hea

You went too far, Ava! Tampering with

blood

eeded to understand, Chloe. He was up

sion isn't a lesson, it's an attack! You

flat. "This ensures Ethan is... less active for a while. And pe

e woman he had once adored, the woman his father had chosen as a potential life partner, was capable of this. The pain in his arm, the throbbing in his head, were