Victoria
My father slipped out of the room, leaving Alexander and me in an unsettling pocket of quiet.
I swallowed, fingers fidgeting with a loose strand of hair as I fought the urge to look anywhere but his eyes. I knew what I was about to reveal could change everything between us, perhaps even shatter the fragile harmony we’d built, but he deserved the truth.
We deserved it.
His stare, cool and cutting as polished ice, followed every nervous breath I took.
“Have you heard of the Lombardy Jewelry Box?” I asked, trying to anchor my voice.
Nothing. Not even a twitch of curiosity.
Why wasn’t he interrupting? Questioning? Reacting?
When I finally forced myself to look up, his gaze was fixed on me, a piercing storm-blue stare that stripped me bare, as if he could see each secret I tr
