As soon as those words fell from Lydia’s mouth, Linsy froze, motionless, breath caught, like a statue in a sudden frost.

A sharp chill began at her soles, creeping up her spine like icy fingers lacing through her vertebrae. It wasn’t winter, but her world turned cold in an instant. Her limbs felt foreign, distant, like they didn’t belong to her anymore. Her chest tightened, and her mind, usually so perceptive, turned into fog.

Did Lydia just say Michael Helwart married her for her ...