(Kieran POV)
The leather satchel sat on my desk like an accusation, packed with enough coin to secure Catherine's family for years. Gold that could buy comfort, security, perhaps even redemption for her father's failing health and Jamie's dimming prospects. Everything she'd need to return to the life she'd been torn from, to choose family duty over whatever madness had been building between us in this impossible place.
My hands shook as I reached for the closure, muscle memory rebelling against actions my rational mind insisted were necessary. Letting her go was the right thing to do—the only thing that didn't make me a monster who held women captive through manipulation disguised as courtship.
But Christ, it felt like tearing out my own heart with dull instruments.
I'd watched her rea
