ログインBETTY"Okay," Rhys whispers, gesturing weakly toward the single-seater armchair near his bedside. "You should sit down, then.""I am fine right here.""Please, Betty. Just take a seat. Please," he begs.I look at his bruised face, and I don't know if it’s the desperation in his dark eyes or the terrifying reality that, despite all of this, I still care about him, but my resolve cracks just enough, and I walk over to the armchair and sit down on the edge of the cushion.But the moment I sit near him, the suffocating memory of Nathaniel’s mouth crushing against mine in the elevator flashes violently through my mind, and a wave of guilt washes over me so intensely I actually feel nauseous.I swallow it down, forcing my face into a completely blank mask, because if Rhys ever finds out about that kiss... fuck. I am not ready to go down that road. Not today."Okay," I say, crossing my right ankle over my left knee. "I am seated. Now tell me. Everything."He swallows hard, licking his dry li
BETTYI find my way upstairs to my room and lock the door behind me with a resounding thud.My heart is violently pounding against my chest. My hands are trembling so badly I can barely feel my fingertips, and the edges of my vision are blurring into a dizzying smear of colors.I drop the duffel bag, my knees giving out at the exact same second.I slide down the solid wood of the door, my back scraping against the door until I hit the floor. I pull my knees tightly to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs, and bury my face against my kneecaps.Breathe, Betty. Just breathe.But there is too much noise in my head.I am trying to process Nathaniel’s voice in the back of that car, raw, entirely stripped of his untouchable arrogance, asking for my forgiveness. I try to comprehend a reality where Nathaniel Blackwell vows to spend the rest of his life making things right. And right alongside it, the bruising, terrifying heat of his mouth in the elevator crashes over me.The second my bra
NATHANIELTen minutes later, we pull up to the gleaming gold-and-glass entrance of The Pendulum.Lucy bids Betty a fierce goodbye and forces her to promise to call her the absolute second she finishes talking to Rhys. As for me, she completely ignores my existence, slipping out of the car without a single backward glance.The moment the door shuts and the car pulls away, the air inside the cabin turns to lead.Betty turns her face entirely toward the tinted window, and from the corner of my eye, I can see the unshed tears glistening on her lower lashes, but I know her pride will never let a single drop fall while I am sitting next to her.The silence is suffocating. I stare at the side of her face, desperate to clear the heavy air between us."Betty," I start, my voice low. "About the elevator... I shouldn't have forced that kiss."She lets out a dry, incredulous scoff, not even bothering to turn her head away from the glass."Do you seriously want to talk to me about that right now,
NATHANIELI press my lips together, violently folding my lower lip between my teeth to stop myself from cursing.I already had this exact conversation with Rhys. I cannot believe I am being forced to endure it again. My plan was seamless: get her safely back to the estate, drag her to the guest wing, and force Rhys to explain his own catastrophic mess. That way, I would be spared the absolute torture of answering rapid-fire questions I don’t want to answer.But clearly, the universe is a cruel mistress."Sit down," I mutter to them both. Neither of them moves an inch.Fine. I stand perfectly still in the center of the cramped, suffocating room, and I lay it all out. Because by now, there is no doubt that Betty has told Lucy every detail of the last few days leading up to the elevator. So, I strip away the remaining secrets.I tell them exactly what happened inside Fausto’s restaurant in New York. I explain Rhys’s dark, tangled connections with the underground network. I explain what t
NATHANIELThe engine roars as we tear down the highway, but the only sound I can actually hear is the violent, erratic thudding of my own heart.I stare down at my phone. I have dialed her number three times. She hasn’t picked up once.My thumbs fly across the screen, firing off a frantic text, and I stare at the screen, holding my breath.A moment later, three small gray bubbles pop up on the screen. She is typing. The knot in my chest loosens for exactly one second before the bubbles completely vanish.Nothing. No message. And pure, blinding panic spikes straight into my bloodstream."Faster," I bark at the driver, the command vibrating with lethal urgency.The security guard in the passenger seat—one of the retired Marines Anders swore was the best on payroll—turns around, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Sir, we are already doing ninety. If we go any faster, we'll draw police attention, and you need to calm down…"I don't speak. I don't yell. I just lift my eyes and lock
NATHANIELI drag a harsh, ragged breath into my lungs before crossing the threshold into Rhys’s room.This is a catastrophic idea.Rhys is sitting on the edge of the mattress, his bare feet resting on the hardwood floor. The nurse is gently manipulating his injured shoulder, and I watch his jaw lock tight. I watch the muscles in his neck strain.He is doing everything in his power not to show the physical agony tearing through his body. And it's working. I clear my throat, and they both snap their heads toward the doorway. The nurse immediately releases Rhys’s arm, letting it rest gently at his side, and takes a respectful step back."Give us a minute," I order her, my voice clipped and leaving absolutely no room for debate.She nods once and slips out into the hallway, pulling the heavy oak door shut behind her, leaving us alone.Rhys lets out a strained breath and attempts to lift his legs back onto the mattress. I stand completely still near the foot of the bed, and I don't lift a
BETTYThe driver slows to a stop in front of Grace’s school, and I take a deep breath before stepping out of the car.The afternoon sun is soft, and the air hums with laughter as children spill out from their buses, dragging small suitcases and waving to their parents.I scan the crowd, my eyes dar
NATHANIELI’m still on a high as I drop Amanda off and head back home with Grace in the backseat.The ice-cream date went better than I could’ve hoped and I cannot get over how much Grace bonded with her.Amanda, of course, was perfect—charming, patient, and knew exactly how to make a six-year-old a
NATHANIELThe air in the gazebo is thick with tension and the scent of roses.Harriette sits at the head of the round table, her back impossibly straight, the evening sunlight reflecting the silver in her hair.A maid comes and sets down a tray of tea and cookies before slipping away in silence, le
BETTYAfter knocking several times, the door finally opens, and Lucy stands on the other side, her hair half curled, a hot iron still clutched in one hand.Her brows shoot up when she sees me, and without saying a word, she places the curler on the console table beside her and opens her arms wide.T







