“I can’t.” Sophia pushed herself to the edge of the bed. “I can’t do my job when you’re this close. It’s too hard and only delays the inevitable.”

“So what? Because we have to say goodbye in a week, we might as well ignore each other until then?”

“I know it’s not ideal.” Sophia slipped back into her pants from the night before. “We’ll probably cross paths at some point in the coming days, and maybe even after that. We’re going to have to be strong, which means we can’t let ourselves be alone together again.”

“Never?”

A piece of her heart cracked at the sadness in Vic’s voice.

“We already had our one more night,” Sophia pleaded. “One more night that was already tacked onto borrowed time. How many more can we take before one of us breaks? I don’t want to do that to you.”

“Nor I to you, but—”

“Then let’s not hurt each other any more than we have to. Can’t we be strong enough to make a clean break?”

Vic bit her lip so hard the red turned to white, but she nodded.

She would. Vic would always do the right thing. Her mother said it plainly yesterday, and Sophia had known it all along. No matter how much she wanted to lash out or scream or burn down the whole place, Vic would always choose honour. Now, if only she could do the same.

She pulled on her shirt roughly and stepped back toward the bed, not coming close enough to rest on the shared surface but reaching for Vic’s hand against her better judgement. “I am never going to forget you.”

Vic nodded again, tears filling her eyes.

“I mean it. I’m going to be obsessed with you for the rest of my life. You will always be the one who got away, and I’ll probably internet stalk you as long as I live.” She managed a half smile. “And when I Google you, I better see you doing well.”

Vic sucked in a deep breath. “I cannot promise to do well without you beside me.”

“Hush,” Sophia commanded. “I won’t be happy if you don’t. I’ll be utterly gutted if I give you up and you don’t repay me by thriving. I need to see pictures of you christening lifeboats and read articles about you signing land conservation deals. You owe that to me and to you and to the people who depend on you. I want to follow your work as you bring new life to this area, bring a new kind of compassion to this dukedom, because you have to make it yours.”