The Prologue
She bit her lip as she faced the window on one side of the study, uncertain and a bit afraid. He, meanwhile, paced right in front of the fireplace, his hands clasped behind his back, a serious and determined look on his face. After a while, he stopped pacing and turned to look at her. Unwillingly, she met his gaze.

“The time will come when you would have to stand up for what you want to do and not what other people want you to do. When the time comes, what would you do then?” he asked, almost challenging her.

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get there,” she hesitatingly decided, looking away. She hated that she didn’t know the right answer to his question. She knew that she was disappointing him.

“Well, what about now?” he pressed, watching her carefully. He knew that she knew what she should say and do. He just wondered if she had enough courage to see it and act on it. “What about—?”

“That’s not what we’re discussing here,” she interrupted him in a rather fierce manner. She knew the look that he got when they were talking about that particular topic. He has always been rather touchy about it.

“That’s exactly what we’re discussing here,” he insisted, holding her gaze firmly with his. “If you can’t fight for one person, how do you expect to fight for everyone else?”

Once again, she looked away. She didn’t know the right answer to that question either.