LOGINVivienne For several seconds, I couldn't bring myself to speak.I stared at Jace, waiting for him to elaborate, but he seemed just as content to let the silence stretch between us."What did you find out?" My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.Instead of responding, he glanced down briefly before reaching inside his jacket."What are you doing?" My body stiffened."Relax." He slowly withdrew a folded piece of paper and placed it on the table between us. "It's a document, Vivienne. Not a weapon.""Forgive me if I'm not particularly comfortable with you reaching inside your jacket." I snapped. "Fair enough." A faint, almost rueful smile crossed his face as he unfolded the paper and turned it towards me.I looked down.At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at. There were dates, reference numbers, official-looking stamps, and several lines of information that meant very little to me."What is this?" I glanced from the paper to his face. "Something I came across
Vivienne "You're alive." I stared at him, my fingers trembling against the tabletop."I am." His expression shifted, holding something that was too close to a smirk. Two words..Two ordinary words, spoken as though he hadn't just dismantled the reality I'd spent years living in.I let out a small, disbelieving laugh immediately. It wasn't amusement, but shock, disbelief, and something dangerously close to anger."You're alive," I repeated."Can I sit?" Jace glanced at the empty seat opposite me."Are you seriously asking me that?" I stared at him.He hesitated, then he pulled the seat out and sat down. For several seconds, neither of us spoke. I looked at him, searching his face for something familiar enough to reassure me that I wasn't losing my mind.Eventually, I found it. The small scar near his eyebrow, the one he'd gotten when we'd been teenagers and he'd insisted he could jump over a fence without hurting himself.I'd laughed at him for weeks. I remembered touching that scar
Vivienne I had changed my outfit three times.The first dress was too formal, the second made me look as though I was going somewhere romantic, which was the last impression I wanted to give, while the third was a simple pair of black jeans, a cream blouse, and a jacket.I stared at myself in the mirror for a long moment before deciding I looked sufficiently ordinary.As though I wasn't about to meet a man I'd buried.The thought made my stomach twist as I checked my phone again.I had spent most of the afternoon trying not to think about the meeting. I'd reorganized the small stack of books on the bedside table, attempted to read a few pages of a novel, and even gone downstairs to help Callie with something at the bar.None of it worked because my mind kept returning to the same questions.How was Jace alive? Why had he let me believe he was dead? And, perhaps most painfully, why had he waited until now to find me?Callie had noticed my distraction almost immediately.She'd caugh
Vivienne’s POV Something in my voice must have finally registered because the amusement in her expression faded.For a moment, she studied me as though she were trying to decide what I was hiding, then she scoffed and shoved the phone toward me."Fine. Keep your secrets.""Thank you." I snatched it from her hand."Don't thank me.” Her eyes shone with something I couldn't quite name. “I haven't done anything worth thanking.""That makes two of us." I replied and Callie coughed into her fist."You know, I almost feel sorry for you." Lana shot her an irritated look before turning back to me."Well,that's unfortunate.” I blinked. “I was hoping you'd save your sympathy for someone who wanted it.""You think this is funny?" Her mouth tightened."No.” I shook my head gently. “I think you're exhausting.""Enjoy your little meeting, Vivienne." She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "But don't come crying to Ronan when your secrets come back to bite you."“What's that supposed to mean?” My
Vivienne "Who exactly are you meeting tonight?"For a moment, I could only stare at Lana. She held my phone in one hand, her eyes moving between the screen and my face, and the slow smile spreading across her lips made me want to snatch the device out of her grip and throw it across the room."What the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded."Excuse me?" Lana raised an eyebrow."You heard me.” I snapped. “Give me my phone.""Why are you getting so worked up?" She tilted the screen toward herself again. "I'm only asking a question.""And I'm telling you to give me my property." I hated how my voice was rising by the second, but Lana left me no choice. "Vivienne," Callie warned from beside us, her voice tight with irritation. Not towards me, but Lana. "She's not worth it.""I know." My gaze didn't leave Lana. "Do you?" Lana snorted. "Because you look awfully nervous for someone who claims she has nothing to hide."“Listen to me.” I took a step toward her. "Lana, I'm going to ask you
Vivienne's POV It had been almost three hours since I sent Jace a message asking him where we were going to meet. Three hours, and he still hadn't replied.I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my phone like I could somehow force it to light up through sheer frustration, but it remained stubbornly silent.Where do we meet? Those had been the words I'd sent, and apparently, Jace had decided that was enough.He had given me no address, no time and no explanation.Nothing."Maybe he changed his mind." I exhaled sharply and tossed the phone onto the bedThe thought should have relieved me, but it didn't. If anything, it made my stomach twist harder, because I had spent the last three hours going over his messages again and again.You deserve to know what happened that night.But if Ronan comes with you, I won't tell you everything.There was something he knew. Something about the accident, something about the night I'd believed had ended with his death, and now that I had agreed
Vivienne's POV The house was too quiet, and it made me shudder. My footsteps echoed against the hardwood floor as I stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind me. The tension I thought I'd left behind in the hallway clung to me like a second skin, thick and suffocating. I walked through the em
Vivienne's POV The ride home was a blur of Ronan's engine roaring underneath us. My frayed nerves attacked me from all angles, and I honestly thought I was going to lose it on this damn bike. Ronan on the other hand, didn't seem to be going through any of the stuff happening to me. He didn't say a
Vivienne's POV I wasn't sure how long I stood there after Ronan disappeared, but I knew it was long enough for the music from the party to filter in again. It was a cruel reminder that the world kept moving, even when mine was threatening to fall apart. The picture burned in my hand, and I shoved
Vivienne's POV I'd heard of people making deals with other people, just to realize they had made the wrong choice. I'd made a deal with the devil, they always said, but honestly, I wasn't one to believe them. I always thought that the right thing to do, was to make background checks about whoever







