LOGIN"Finish that sentence." My voice cut across hers. A beat passed. A shift crossed her eyes. Then she said it anyway. "Cleaned houses for people like us." The room went completely quiet. "My mother." I stopped. "Worked with her hands for people who believed that made her less than them. People exac
Alicia’s POV The pen was in my hand. I hadn't moved since the door closed. The page in front of me, the same line, and now I knew someone had been observing me return to it, watching long enough to count each return. I had spent three years believing he never saw the parts that weren't performed.
"He also mentioned Vera Sorel has made her attendance at the follow-up conditional on yours," I said, letting the other piece of the weight land between us. "He wanted me to know that." The pen halted in her hand. She took a breath, slow, through her nose, and the line of her throat moved once befo
Edward's POV Phillip arrived at twenty past ten. He settled into the chair across my desk and set his coat on the arm of it. The draft was already in his hand before he opened his mouth. "Signed and filed as of this morning. Your name on the minority position. Clean." He set a single folded page
"I don't know." "You said it to him. Not here." The pause that followed remained too long to be casual. "What are you afraid of?" I didn't rush it. "That I'm seeing it right. And it still falls apart anyway." She shook her head slightly. "That's not uncertainty. That's you refusing to close y
Alicia's POV Elena didn't turn when I came in. She was at the counter, spoon hovering over a bowl she hadn't touched in a while. The kettle had gone cold long enough to feel intentional. My bag hit the floor by the door. She didn't look at it. "You came back wrong." "I came back two days ago."
"Jennifer Caldwell just arrived. She's important. Her husband sits on three boards. Don't embarrass me again." The words came out wrong. Harsher than I meant. She went very still. Then she pulled her arm free and walked away without looking back. I stood there, alone in the hallway, tie too tigh
Always Edward. I excused myself to the powder room twice, to breathe. To stand in front of the mirror and remind myself I was still here. Still whole. The second time I emerged, Lucy was waiting in the hallway. "There you are," she said brightly. "I was hoping we'd get another chance to chat." M
Alicia's POV Lily's room had transformed since that first terrifying night. Sunlight streamed through windows no longer blocked by emergency equipment. Cards covered every surface, bright splashes of color against sterile white walls. Someone had brought a small stuffed bear that sat on the window
I stepped closer, closing what little space remained. My lips found hers. The kiss was hard, claiming. Her fingers found my shirt, gripping it. I pulled her closer, my hand sliding into her hair. She gasped, breath short and fierce. I broke away just enough to look at her. Her eyes burned. Her che







