Maeve POV
I was not ready.
Although I knew on some level that becoming involved with Xaden meant that my life would practically unroot itself and I would be thrust into a world and lifestyle completely foreign to me, I had not fully realized what that would entail. All of the curious stares, the groundless gossip, the need to please authority at the cost of others—I could not do it.
I’d thought I wanted a life where I did not need to hide anymore… where I could just live and be my true self, unafraid of what others thought or did.
But I couldn’t do it…
I was not ready to throw myself into that unforgiving sea. Not while I was still adjusting to this new life, and not with my first baby on the way.
I needed to hide. Someway—somehow!
Without thinking, I grabbed Xaden by his collar an
