“She will remain in her incubator under the care of our specialists,” Tessa said.

“As long as you are a cooperative husband, her treatments will continue.”

“If you attempt to remove her from the facility, the synthetic compound will wear off.”

“Without it, her lungs will fail within three hours.”

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out.

The taste of copper filled my mouth.

Rowan looked down at his shoes, then back up at Tessa.

His shoulders sagged slightly, the posture of a man who had finally been broken.

“I need to see her,” Rowan said.

“Absolutely not,” Tessa replied.

“I cannot sign those papers without knowing she is actually alive, Tessa,” he said.

His voice sounded defeated, stripped of all its usual authority.

“I am not a fool,” he added.

“You could be lying to me just to get me to the altar.”

Tessa studied his face, looking for any sign of deception.

Rowan kept his expression entirely blank, his eyes dull.

“The security down there is absolute, Rowan,” she said.

“You cannot get her out anyway.”