“There’s no way around this. If only Ileana and I had been more discreet—” Thomas was before his sister at once, expression fierce. He gently clutched her wrists, drawing them away from her tearstained face. “Do not ever blame yourself or Ileana. You have every right to love each other as freely as anyone else. He’s playing this game as filthily as possible because he has no options left. If he did, he’d have saved these threats for some other terrible scheme. Father is twisted and brutal and this is his issue, not yours. Agreed?”
