stagra

tle to soften the cold that had settled deep in her bones.

be home tonight. The driver will pick

logy. Just a stat

ina. He wasn't eve

r on her face, staring at her reflection in the vast, gilt-edged mirror. The woman looking back was a strange

to her stomach. A tiny, secr

ing Instagram for a distraction. She scrolled past photos of

nd the profile picture of Landon Vance, Julia

for a second before t

was unmistakable-the floor-to-ceiling windows of Julian's private penthouse downtown, the one he kept for "e

s the party. Laughter and music filled the audio. The camera finally settled

lver dress, her head thrown back in a joyous laugh. Julian was looking down at her, a small, genuine smile on his face. A

at the bottom of the scr

ra! Wedding bells

re's numb fingers, clatteri

hrowing her a party. A welcome home party, for all their

e, finding out about it through a 24-

lls are rin

re already planning it. The ink on th

nd jarring. It was her assistant, Nina. Cla

things are going crazy on the internal company message boards. Everyone is talking about Mr

remain level. "Nina, it's just gossip. Don't

sea surged up her throat. She scrambled to the bathroom, collapsing in front of the toilet as her body wa

er forehead. She wiped her mouth. As she looked at her reflection again, the emptine

pened her work email. She forced herself to focus on the MQ b

her only

into that office tomorrow with her head hel