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"If it’sto keep you" He put his head in his hands and rocked back and forward "After you rani my existence without youI realize"

"What?"

He raised his head to er matter You’re at the center of my life"--he frowned--"no, you are my life"

"Then why don’t you treattone, I said, "Isn’t that sorandfather’s na Maksioad ed?"

"Already there is troubling interest in you as an heiress You’ll be safer if it gets out that you’reaup a front to keep me safe, to fulfill his promise to Paxán--

"AndI expected to wed you" He ad want bubbled up inside me! Then I remembered all the reasons it would never work "Earlier, you ordered --in front of your brother"

"You’re not to be around hierous"

I wondered what it took for a erous "Why?"

"Because I can never predict what he’ll do"

"What would it have hurt for you to tellfor me?"

"The plan is risky At any , it’s because I’m confident I can Not so with this Plus, the less you know, the safer it is for you"

Plausible deniability And to be fair, I couldn’t see hiiving it a shot anyway"

He added, "Besides, if I disclosed this to you, then you would have asked about Maksi me to continue my lie to you I don’t want to lie any the vor? Don’t you think that’s a decision we should have h I can see no way around it"

"You didn’t even give me a chance to come to the saical--well, except for being with you"

Pain flared in his eyes "It’s not that I don’t want your opinion But I know that the more I talk to you, the ht I would have liked for you to tell s about your past!"