face flushed deep red with fury. "Haven'

dison was guilty wi

ike it was shattering

her, nor did

the man she had loved so deeply, with every fiber of

rotested, her voice tight, her

e, his eyes icy and dismissive as he turne

ards Lana. "How's your wrist? Still in

With all eyes on them, they walked out

er legs weaken, a chill of

, her fiance, had left her on

able. If looks could wound, Madiso

rom the school drama club, claiming she was lucky

n plummeted to the brunt o

zzing space emptied, silen

n legs, each step a laborious battl

congealed over wounds peppered with splinters, eac

suddenly bathed in the harsh glare of

erged from the brightness. As he stepped forward, his feat

him, Madison came to an abru

Pea

ce she was Colten's fiancee, she knew

a warm, velvety cloak, momentarily distracting her from the pai

t the end, a polite offer, yet it seemed to carry an undercur

rrassment, and she gestured with her hands, m

ecade her senior and had the kind of distingui

psed Colten, casting a long shadow as

chment made it clear-very few, i

Madison could act as freely as she pl

ly raised an arm, the exquisite cufflink glint

e you a hand," he

ght a glimpse of a fresh cut near the base of

hand, revealing more cuts lacing his

ks that had trapped her-they ha

reading through her nose as she clutched his wrist, h

re?" His voice cut through the

alized her overstep and quickly released his

," she muttered, her voice a mi

ess, especially regarding physical cont

sonal space, and any servant who dared touch him often fo

wn taboo among th

was frantic, but a sinking realization

" she said, her voice la

palm down, concealing the

those wounds need attention," he i

n him again, quickly retreating

ought struck her-she could have just visited the

escape her lips, Chris had

seemed confining with his

, an intriguing blend of cold sharpness an

shuffled to the far corner of the seat,

" she murmured, her voice

hem. After a tense, prolonged silence,

nd the partition rose, the atmos

dison's pale forehead an

ke the silence, his voice rising slightly but s

ted upright, momentarily forgetting the confines of the v

she tried to regain her composure. After a brief pause, she a