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."
Alicia's POV I moved down the terrace steps with my head low. Harrison's voice still echoed somewhere behind me. Edward caught in that sound, pulled away before I could reach him. The night air touched my face, soft at first, then bit down sharply. I didn't pull away. I needed something that felt
I was already moving. Corridor widened. Gallery entrance ahead. Ceiling higher, ambient light brighter. Music floated out. Violins threading a slow, elegant piece. Felt obscene. Wrong. Voices swelled. Laughter, clinking silverware, murmurs. Too many people, too much noise. I pushed through the ar
Alicia's POV I woke to the sterile quiet of the hospital room, the faint hum of machines blending with the slow tick of the wall clock. Morning light spilled thinly through the blinds, pale and sharp. I pressed my face against the crisp pillow, wishing I could disappear into it. My body ached in w
Edward's POV The door clicked shut behind me. I leaned against it, chest tight, fingers digging into the bridge of my nose. The frame wound cold into my spine. It was the only thing holding me together. I had just been beside her. Watched the blood drain from her face. Watched her hand pull away f







