Callista’s voice cracked the silence like a blade.

"Please..." she whispered, her eyes glassy, desperate. “Help me get my life back. I’ll do anything in return.”

Sebastian’s expression froze, but she wasn’t finished.

“I mean it,” she added, more urgent this time. “Even if I have to offer myself to you. I don’t care what it takes. I just… I can’t keep running anymore.”

The air thickened. He stared at her, the weight of her words hitting harder than anything she’d said ...