Chapter 6: The Price of Freedom

I told Aunt Lisa I wanted to move out of the Miller house.

If I truly meant to keep my distance, I couldn’t live under the same roof as Derek.

Aunt Lisa clung to my hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. I’d lived in the Miller house since I was ten—five years now. We’d shared every day, and she was deeply reluctant to let me go. She squeezed my fingers so tight I thought she’d never let go, her voice trembling like a gospel singer at Sunday service.

“Aubrey, is it because you heard Derek is about to get engaged to the Lieutenant Governor’s oldest daughter?”

I was stunned. It felt sudden, yet like it was always meant to be. In Savannah, rumor travels faster than truth.

Even I wanted to change my fate in this life. Naturally, Derek would want to fix his regrets too.

But I was still a little lost.

“Isn’t Natalie the one who’s supposed to be the First Lady?”

Aunt Lisa explained, “When the Governor arranged the marriage for his son, he didn’t say which Miss Taylor. There’s also a second Miss Taylor in that family, but she’s quiet and not well known. If the oldest Miss Taylor marries Derek, the Taylors will send the second Miss to the Governor’s son. The engagement isn’t public yet. I just heard Mr. Miller mention it.”

I nodded, finally at ease. The tangled fate of the last life could be set right in this one.

Just wait for Marcus to arrive in Savannah in a couple weeks, and then I could move out. I could almost see my future—maybe a small place with creaky floors and sun-warmed windows, all my own.