Serena swallowed hard. There was no way she could agree to this. It was too easy to rely on someone else, to trust again. And look where that had gotten her with Owen. Almost dead and sold off to a stranger... literally. A part of her wanted to defend Aiden, to believe that he was too honorable to betray her—but trust wasn't something she could give freely anymore.
She had made that mistake before. With Owen. Forget Owen—she had never even felt anything real for him. He had been a pawn, someone she had intended to use for her own ends and pay him handsomely. But his greed had interfered with her plans.. However Sidney… Sidney was different. He had been someone she truly trusted.
The memory of him brought a bitter smile to her lips. Sidney could serve as the perfect reminder of her flawed judgment when it came to men she deemed trustworthy. Even someone as noble as Aiden wasn't exempt from that growing distrust. Trusting anyone again felt like a luxury she simply couldn't afford.
