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“You told hi I said to you”

She pushed hard against Sebastian’s chest, breaking free “You told him”

She shouldn’t be surprised really If she was honest, a small part of her knew that he wouldn’t keep her secret

“Wait, Ah pleaded,towards them

His daughter had changed a lot in the last five years Her hair had matured to a rich sable colour Her beautiful face had a porcelain glow that immediately made one want to stroke her cheek to see if she was real Her ferace that was si He was so proud of her, itwoman; it was easy to see why Sebastian adored her

“All I ask is that you give me a few minutes of your time If you still hateeverything you went through” Barely restrained emotion made his voice shake

Amelia had never seen such a look of abject fear on her father’s face, and it e of his aloof stance, his back turned towards her as he cast her aside rose unbidden in her mind It was in stark contrast to the hu a few feet aas her father froer her father

A wave of confusion swept through her and she frowned, trying to make sense of the tumult of emotions that churned inside her Quintessentially he was the sah older His hair was liberally peppered with silver, and there were fine lines around his eyes and h he was a tall, proud hlighted his age

Sebastian tried to take her ar with the sense of betrayal that despite everything, he had once again gone against her wishes She jerked her ar her seat on the chaise in wounded silence

“Your father insisted on co with us,” Sebastian informed her harshly “Of course I told the hter You need to know the truth from his side of events He deserves to learn what actually happened to you when you left the security of Eastleigh”

He felt his own chest tighten with sympathy when Amelia raised wounded eyes to his, but he wouldn’t take the blaain

“If I hadn’t told hi to find you for years Do you now realise there are two sides to every story?”

He knew by

the way she held his gaze, that he had sparked her curiosity

“Do you not want to knohat happened at home to push him to send you to Bath in the first place?