air rushed in, her face a carefully constructed mask of frantic worry. She wa

aw Aria sitting on the edge

er mouth. Her eyes, expertly glossed with unsh

embrace, her voice trembling with manufactured rel

r's arms closed on empty air. She froze, her hands ho

e, so quick that the old Aria would have m

leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Ju

g held here. He's furious. If you just keep fighting, keep making a scene,

once been her gospel. She traced an invisible pattern on the sil

aced with poison. "I know it was hard," she murmured, her tone sickeningly sweet. "But it

f ice, locked onto Blair's. For the first time, Blair seemed to truly see he

angerously calm. "Worth what, Blair?

a brittle laugh. "Don't be so dramatic. It

, moving with a fluid grace Blair had never seen before. She was no longer the awkward, timid g

nexplicable sense of pressure, scrambled to her feet, taking a

ress. The gesture was gentle, almost intimate, but her vo

the plan. The country mouse she had so carefully contr

fell back on her role as the older, wiser sister. "I risked Julian'

a question, but as a fact. "So you could finally ge

true, it left no room for denial. Rage, pure and ugly, contorted her

was caught in

o the delicate bones with shocking strength. Blair gasped in

a chilling promise. "From this day forward, everything you ha

ench perfume toppled over, shattering on the floor. The scent of gardenias, overwhelmingly sweet, filled

nt footsteps pounding down the hallway. The

ul lurch. She knew that s

. He w

ly smoothed her hair, her expression shifting from fear to one of a victim.

ss her face. She didn't move to stop her. She simply too

ch force that it slammed against t

of pure, undiluted fury. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, his tie loosened, and

ng onto Aria with a terrifying intensity. It was a look o

r face a mask of tearful distress,

age wa

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