Chapter 53

• Jordan's POV
• I stand on the grand stone veranda of the ancestral estate, my posture entirely rigid, my arms crossed tightly over my chest as I lock my eyes onto the heavy iron gates at the end of the sweeping driveway. Every few minutes, my gaze darts back to the entrance, my jaw clenching with a tense, volatile impatience that I cannot seem to shake.
• "Mr. Jordan… are you waiting for someone?" one of the senior house servants asks, stepping out onto the terrace with a silver tray.