Chapter 30

Alex walked back to his couch but didn’t sit. Instead, he took a few steps closer to the picture pasted on the opposite wall. He examined it well and began to fantasize about what she would look like in reality. Then he started to sit on the couch beside him but stopped.

For a moment, he hung there, twin instincts battling within him. Then, his hands clenched at his sides. He straightened up, turned on his toes, and removed the framed portrait from the wall. He wiped the glass with the hem of his shirt to see clearer and finally sank into the couch.

“Thieves don’t go unpunished here.”

Startled, he lifted his head to look at her as he dropped the frame beside him.

“Why would I steal someone’s picture? Of what use is it to me?” He half-shouted, jaw working as if chewing his anger.

She said nothing.

She stepped toward him and whispered, “We’re leaving here in two hours’,” and left.

If anyone in the palace found out how vulnerable she was to the