As the days passed, the quiet distance between Selena and Rina widened like a crack in stone. Selena, still nursing the sting of what felt like betrayal, kept to herself in the kitchen storeroom. She focused on her duties, but the warmth she once felt for Rina had cooled. Each night, she sent letters to Lucian, pouring out her confusion and hurt.Lucian, reading her words by candlelight, felt the ache in his heart. He longed to tell her the truth—that Rina’s reassignment had been his doing, ...