Emerald was startled when he gently brushed her hair.

“You don’t have to do anything. Just stay where you are, and let me take care of everything. Let’s give this a chance, and if, in the end, you want to be more than friends, that’s wonderful. If not, I won’t pressure you. What do you think?”

Alaric, a seasoned businessman, hadn’t gained anything from this arrangement—in fact, he’d given more than he’d received.

“It doesn’t seem fair to you,” she said softly.

Alaric chuckled. “Silly girl, fairness is business.”

As he said this, he held her wrist gently and shook his head slowly.

“Like before, you don’t have to give...