My heart pounded as our carriage pulled up to Aunt Justina's dreary estate. The wheels crunched on fresh snow, and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the confrontation ahead.
"You should wait here," I told Cassian, squeezing his arm. "Let me handle this first. I want to see the look on her face when she realizes I'm not coming back to serve her."
Cassian frowned, his dark eyes concerned. "Are you certain? Your aunt sounds... difficult."
"Difficult is putting it mildly," I said with a brittle laugh. "But this is my battle. I need to face her myself."
He nodded reluctantly. "I'll give you fifteen minutes. Then I'm coming in."
I stepped down from the Duke's ornate carriage—the one Cassian had insisted on using specifically to make an impression. After years of enduring Justina's cruelty, today I would finally free my parents from her clutches.
