Ignatius Leclair's breathing deepened slightly. These past days, the two of them had been neither hot nor cold toward each other, and he was deeply stifled by it. Now, seeing her willing to talk about the past, he could no longer restrain himself. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
The man's warm body enveloped her like a mountain, shielding her from the cold of the hills. In a low and heavy voice, he said, "Delphine, you're not someone who struggles in the mire. You have a home."
It was only because of a momentary lapse that he had lost her. Now that he'd found her again, he would never let her live that kind of life again.
"But the Squire siblings are. They've struggled to climb out of that hellish place. Why are you making it hard for them?" Delphine pushed him away, a dense and prickly pain rising in her heart.
