Several servants standing at a distance exchanged glances, yet not one dared step forward. The air in the sitting room grew stifling, as if it too were holding its breath.
Bianca clenched her fists against the floor. Her crying subsided, replaced by something far more dangerous resolve. She lifted her face, her eyes red, but her gaze steady as it met her father's.
"I'm not going home," she said slowly. Then, with a stronger voice "Period."
The single word fell heavily.
Count Austin straightened. His jaw tightened, the veins in his neck standing out. He looked at Bianca as though she were a stranger no longer a child he could fully control.
"You forget who you are," he said coldly. "You are the daughter of a count. Your life is not your own."
Bianca gave a small smile a fragile one, almost mocking.
"That's exactly what you've never understood," she replied. "I'm a human being before I'm anyone's daughter."
Silence descended again, sharper this time. More dangerous.
