Maximilian slowed to a stop.
The subtle pull of his hand made Catherine pause too, her fingers still laced with his as she turned toward him. There was something in the way he looked at her, something heavier than before, something he hadn't yet said.
He wanted to ask her.
Not about Joanne. Not about Alexander.
About him.
She loved him. That much was undeniable. She had said yes to him, had agreed to marry him, even when the proposal itself had been far from perfect.
But love and trust were not the same thing.
And marriage… could it stand without both?
Maximilian wasn't sure if he was overthinking, but the thought had taken root and refused to leave. He had seen the hesitation she carried, the quiet caution that surfaced at the edges whenever the past brushed too close.
If she couldn't fully trust Alexander, who had once been his brother in another life, once she learned of that fact… then where did that leave him?
Would she ever trust him completely?
