BOOK 3: CHAPTER 36 -ELAINE- No matter how I tried to ignore Duncan’s subtle looks, I couldn’t. He acted as if he did not care, but I felt his eyes on me all evening. He probably thought I didn’t notice. Typical of him to believe he was invisible, unobserved and untouchable. But I had learned to
BOOK 3: CHAPTER 35 -DUNCAN- I stood near the far end of the room, drink in hand, nodding at whoever nodded first, pretending not to see the way people kept trying to pull me into conversations I had no interest in. My face was calm. Neutral. Unbothered. But inside? I was simmering. That woman… O
BOOK 3: CHAPTER 34 -ELAINE- I knew one trip to the park wouldn’t fix everything, but I had hoped it would help. And it did. Amelia finally smiled at me again, really smiled, the kind that reached her eyes and made my heart swell. I’d been holding my breath since the night Duncan showed up at my
BOOK 3: CHAPTER 33 -DUNCAN- Elaine didn't show up that evening, reasons best known to her. I didn’t expect it to hit me like that. Seeing the way Amelia’s face crumpled when she realized Elaine wasn’t coming to her game—it knocked the wind out of me. She didn’t say much, just stood there clutchi
BOOK 3: CHAPTER 32 -ELAINE- Today was the kind of day I’d never admit I was looking forward to. One of Duncan’s employees, a young man named Karl, was finally being discharged after he was attacked by one of the horses. I’d treated him myself, and he’d made a good recovery, but what had me checkin
BOOK 3: CHAPTER 31 -DUNCAN- Elaine was in my house, breathing my air, walking around like she belonged, and it was driving me mad. Not in a loud, angry way. No. This was quiet madness, the kind that burned low but steady, like a fire you couldn’t smother. It made my skin itch. Made my thoughts