"It doesn't matter," I brushed off easily, looking away from the ring to give him a soft smile.
He smiled back, and it lit up his face, making him appear twice as handsome under the fire's glow.
"Will you marry me, Miss Hart?"
"I will," I responded with a soft laugh at the absurd situation.
We spent the evening getting to know each other.
Sebastian was a reserved man, but I could tell from the way he spoke that there was warmth under the tough shield he kept up to protect his heart from the world's harsh judgment.
It was all going so well until he mentioned wanting children, and the once-burning whiskey in my belly turned cold.
Thankfully, he did not notice my silence about the topic, and we moved on to other things. Though that glimmer of hope in his eyes caused guilt to haunt me for the rest of the night.
The next morning, I left Sebastian's home to get the rest of my things.
The house loomed ahead, and Mattew and I shared a look when we saw the black smoke rising from the front yard.
I was out of the car the second he parked, my feet leading me past the gates.
Standing on the lawn was Stacy with a determined look on her face as she stared down at the dying flames of a blackened heap by her feet.
In one hand, she held lighter fluid, and in the other, a box of matches.
I marched over to inform her she couldn't just burn things on my carefully groomed grass.
However, my steps slowed when my eyes caught something peeking out from the blackened lump.
It was a familiar pink fabric that looked just like the suit my mother had worn during her court marriage.
My heart dropped to my stomach when I caught sight of the wheel of the luggage I had packed my things into yesterday.
"No," I whispered, watching as the dying embers consumed the last of my parents' things.
The photo album my mother had meticulously recorded all our memories in, my father's lucky cufflinks, and every other trinket that would be useless to everyone else but meant everything to me.
"W-what have you done?" I wailed as I crumbled to my knees, tears pouring down my cheeks.
Stacy smiled, her eyes filled with sadistic pleasure. "You acted so high and mighty yesterday, and that didn't sit right with me.”
“I don't think it's fair you keep anything bought with my husband's hard-earned money, so I made sure you can't."
Lily's POV
Rage like I had never felt burned inside me.