The sound arrived before the sight.
Wheels striking stone.
Dry. Rhythmic. Unavoidably close.
Emily didn't need anyone to announce it.
Douglas.
She moved to the tall window.
And then she saw them.
Black banners.
Two intertwined wolves, embroidered with almost impossible precision, moving with the wind as if they were breathing.
Her chest tightened.
It wasn't a symbol.
It was a warning.
Entire noble houses had vanished after opposing that emblem.
Not rumors.
Facts.
She inhaled slowly.
Measured.
Controlled.
Her fingers instinctively reached for the lace of her dress, smoothing it out. The faint tremor in her hands didn't disappear… but it was hidden.
A Carter does not tremble.
Even if her heart pounds as though it wants to escape her chest.
—Emily…
Her mother's voice was soft, but heavy.
A hand on her shoulder.
Firm.
Present.
—Remember what is at stake.
Emily didn't look away from the banners.
—I know.
A pause.
—I won't make mistakes.
She had to believe it.
The front doors opened.
Not violently.
But the air shifted anyway.
Sophia Douglas entered first.
She didn't need to announce herself.
Her presence did that for her.
Each step was measured, elegant… but something else lay beneath it. Something that didn't match the gentle smile she wore.
Control.
Behind her—
Lusian.
Emily only looked at him for a second.
Enough.
Straight posture.
Simple attire.
Controlled gaze.
He didn't look arrogant.
He didn't look comfortable.
That… wasn't what she expected.
Servants lowered their heads.
All of them.
At once.
As if an unseen order had been given.
And Emily felt it.
That weight.
Invisible.
But real.
The Douglas family didn't fill the room.
They dominated it.
Greetings began.
Proper words.
Perfect tones.
Carefully measured smiles.
No one said anything wrong.
No one said anything real.
Emily inclined her head precisely.
—The honor is ours, Your Grace.
Her voice did not tremble.
That alone was a victory.
—My family appreciates your presence.
Inside—
every muscle was tense.
Every word felt like a misstep waiting to happen.
Then she felt it.
A gaze.
Direct.
She tensed slightly.
Lusian.
He didn't scan her the way other nobles did.
There was no judgment.
No superiority.
No interest.
That was what was strange.
There was… distance.
As if he, too, was trapped there.
As if this—
was not his choice.
Emily blinked once.
Confused.
What…?
That didn't fit.
None of it fit.
—Perhaps the young ones should speak in private.
Sophia's voice cut through the room with perfect softness.
But it wasn't a suggestion.
It was a decision.
Emily understood.
There was no option.
There never had been.
She nodded.
—Of course.
The garden greeted them with humid air.
A grey sky pressed down above.
Lilacs filled the space with a sweet scent… too sweet for the tension crawling between them.
They walked.
Side by side.
Not touching.
Not speaking.
Their footsteps on the gravel were the only thing that felt real.
Emily kept her gaze forward.
But she was aware of everything.
Of him.
Of the distance.
Of the silence.
Each step brought her closer to something inevitable.
Not just a betrothal.
A future.
One she hadn't chosen.
One she still didn't understand.
And for the first time—
she didn't know if she should fear him…
or what came after.