I wasn't supposed to want her. That's how it started. That's how it always starts —with something small, some thing harmless. A look that lingers a second too long. A feeling you brush off because it doesn't make sense. Because it shouldn't make sense. Grace was never meant to be mine. She was offlimits. Untouchable. A line I should have never even considered crossing. But the problem with lines… Is that I've never been good at respecting them. I watched her grow up. Watched her become someone I couldn't ignore. Someone I couldn't stay away from. Someone who got under my skin in a way nothing else ever has. And I tried. God, I tried. To keep my distance. To bury it. To pretend what I felt was anything other than what it was. She thinks I protect her because I have to. Because of Louis. Because of loyalty. Because it's the right thing to do. She's wrong. I protect her because I don't know how not to. Because the thought of something happening to her… Of someone else touching her… Looking at her… Having her— It does something tome. Something dark. Something I don't even try to control anymore. She wants freedom. Wants to run. Wants to escape this city… escape me. But she doesn't understand one thing. You can run from a lot of things. Your past. Your fears. Even the people who love you. But you can't run from someone who's already decided… You belong to him.

I wasn't supposed to want her. That's how it started. That's how it always starts —with something small, some thing harmless. A look that lingers a second too long. A feeling you brush off because it doesn't make sense. Because it shouldn't make sense. Grace was never meant to be mine. She was offlimits. Untouchable. A line I should have never even considered crossing. But the problem with lines… Is that I've never been good at respecting them. I watched her grow up. Watched her become someone I couldn't ignore. Someone I couldn't stay away from. Someone who got under my skin in a way nothing else ever has. And I tried. God, I tried. To keep my distance. To bury it. To pretend what I felt was anything other than what it was. She thinks I protect her because I have to. Because of Louis. Because of loyalty. Because it's the right thing to do. She's wrong. I protect her because I don't know how not to. Because the thought of something happening to her… Of someone else touching her… Looking at her… Having her— It does something tome. Something dark. Something I don't even try to control anymore. She wants freedom. Wants to run. Wants to escape this city… escape me. But she doesn't understand one thing. You can run from a lot of things. Your past. Your fears. Even the people who love you. But you can't run from someone who's already decided… You belong to him.