CHAPTER 84 Between Passion and Peril

  Angela's heart raced as she processed Edmund's cryptic warning. The room felt too small, the air thick with unanswered questions. Every part of her wanted to scream, demand the truth, and force him to lay bare the secrets he so carefully concealed. But his gaze, intense and pleading, held her still.

  "You expect me to trust you after all this?" she whispered, her voice trembling with equal parts anger and vulnerability.

  Edmund took a cautious step closer, his hands at his sides, his body language disarming. "I don't expect it," he said softly. "I just hope for it."

  The warmth of his voice, the way it softened at the edges, chipped away at Angela's resolve. She wanted to push him away, to guard her heart against the tangled mess he represented. Yet, against her better judgment, she found herself leaning in, drawn to the magnetic pull of him.

  "You can't keep doing this," she murmured, her voice quivering. "You can't keep pulling me in and shutting me out."