"See, Alex, I'm literally begging you, please just stay away from my daughter. She's too innocent for the crap you're trying to pull," Mary resorted to politeness, knowing nothing was working in her favour if she kept behaving like this.

"I don't see you begging, though. I don't know how sitting counts as begging, but you do sound sincere," Alex said, one eyebrow raised. "But I'm not in the mood to accept sincerity."

Mary looked at him with surprise shooting from her eyes. Never in her life ...