Amelia POV

I never intended to take the bag.

When Maxwell handed it to me, I thought it was some last-ditch bribe—another attempt to manipulate emotions he couldn’t voice aloud. But when I opened it and saw the gown, everything in me stilled.

I should’ve walked away. I told myself I would. But then he said it.

“Just tonight. Give me one night, Amelia.”

And I don’t know what shattered me more—his voice when he said it, or the fact that he didn’t beg… he asked.

So now, here I ...