The exam room at the clinic was quiet. Dr. Lucas Hale waited, his heart in his throat, having just offered Sophie Laurent a life free of billionaires and blackmail.
Sophie looked at him–at the safety he represented. “Lucas, what you’re offering… it’s a dream. A beautiful, safe dream.”
“Then take it,” Lucas urged. “Pack a bag. We can leave tonight.”
Sophie shook her head slowly, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t. Not because I’m scared of Beatrice, but because… I love him.”
She thought of William–the broken man who had panicked in the storm, the father who had delivered his own son in a truck cab. He was manic and damaged, but he was hers.
“He is surrounded by wolves,” Sophie whispered, realizing her role wasn’t just a prop, but a shield. “If I leave him now, Beatrice will destroy him. I have to stay. I have to say ‘I do’ to save him.”
Lucas nodded slowly, the light in his eyes dimming. He accepted his defeat. “Be careful, Sophie. You can’t save a man who is drowning by jumping in with him.”