“What are you saying, Rose? How… I mean—why did you agree to a marriage like that?” Isabella asked, her voice laced with both confusion and fear. Her eyes were wide, staring at Rose, and her brows furrowed in disbelief.
She herself had been forced into such a bond, but there had been reasons—reasons she couldn’t escape. But Rose? What could possibly make her accept such a fate? Isabella’s chest tightened as she made a decision.
No, I couldn’t let this happen to her. I couldn’t fight for myself, but I would fight for her.
“What about your mate?” Isabella pressed, her tone more urgent. “The one you’re supposed to find on your eighteenth birthday? Don’t you want to wait for him? For the one who will love you forever?”
For a moment, Isabella’s own forgotten dreams flickered back—the hope
