Chapter 1: Promises and Poison

He made me promise: if my sister ever came crawling back, I’d hand over the governor’s wife’s sash without a fight. Like I was just keeping her seat warm. But how could he ever understand? The best way to win is not to play the game at all.

In Savannah, nothing spread faster than news of a new alliance. Our wedding was as grand as the Fourth of July parade—fireworks, fanfare, and all—but behind the confetti and the photo ops, I was already rehearsing my exit. Every smile for the cameras felt like another lock clicking shut. I kept thinking: how long until I can slip out without anyone noticing? Whether I was in the spotlight at a charity gala or hiding in the silent corners of our brick mansion, I gave him everything. I held his hand through fevers, argued for him in front of the town council, and risked my own name when rumors threatened to drag him down. On the day my sister returned—hair wild, eyes blazing—I took off the governor’s wife’s sash, just as we’d agreed, and handed over the Foster family seal. Yet, right then, he started to hesitate, fingers hovering, as if the weight of that promise was more than he’d bargained for.