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."
She arched against me, back bowing, breasts pressing against my chest. Her nails found my forearms now, digging in. "Edward—" I didn’t answer. Just kept moving, taking what was mine, what she’d already decided to give. What we both needed. Her body trembled beneath my hands. Her breath came in r
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need," my mother said immediately. "You know that. Your room is always ready." "That's generous, but I couldn't impose—" "It's not imposing. It's family." My mother's voice was firm. "Besides, grandmother would be heartbroken if you left again so soon. S
Alicia's POV The room felt impossibly large in the quiet of the morning. Light filtered through drizzle-smeared glass, the rain now behind it. The city beyond looked washed clean, but it didn't reach me. Inside, the room smelled of antiseptic, stale coffee, and exhaustion. They'd been up once befo
There it was. The command was disguised in the pretense of suggestion. You'll attend. As if my presence was a foregone conclusion, as inevitable as sunrise or quarterly reports. Something flickered in my chest, a brief flash of rebellion, a moment where I wanted to ask what gave him the right to or







