ana

was a monument to ne

, my feet blackened from the city streets.

Her eyes widened when she saw my naked feet, then soften

I was the punchline of

traight toward the living r

niverse. Now, it sounded like a car engine sput

into the

lap, her fingers tangled in his hair. Cecil, his mother, sat in the armchair ac

the moment

st turned her head, smoothing her

ine poison. "You're back early. My car broke down, and Dam

w, Hadley," I said. M

na clinked sharply against the sau

uest, Aliana. You look like a

" I said. "Th

d pulled out a velvet box. "Since you're here, you can mak

acelet worth more than my father's life insurance policy. It wa

ised it to me t

emeralds around it. The green stones glitt

ed. "A jewel for a qu

nging. He was waiting for me to cry. He was waiting for

d over

catch the light. "It's a bit heavy, is

bracelet. Then I

said. "It's cold, hard, and

went deat

eel and walked t

Damien's v

e marble behind me. He caught me in the foyer, his hand clamping ar

in a way that used to make my knees weak. Now

m me? You exist because I allow it. My father took your

id, looking him dead in th

"Hadley saved me from that fire! Hadley was there when I cou

dn't handle the truth-that the girl he treated like

o intimidate me. He was trying to use his size, his scent, and his po

twisted smile forming. "You'r

sn't romantic. It was a brandi

gle. I didn't

o his eyes and wh

lth

s if I had slapped him. His

did yo

our hands. Your mouth. Your soul. I don't want you an

He was too stunne

im standing in the foyer, looking at his o