been fo

rom everything she once knew, boarded that plane wit

he was

amiliar uneasiness. The chill stung against her skin

return. Not after everything

he ha

ds that needed tying. Ghosts that refused to re

consumed its wielder just as much as its target. They spoke o

u-what no one ever admitted

th

tching everything unfo

ver lost sight of them. News articles, social media, whispered rumor

owed the old

s close. Keep you

, She didn't return for cl

the towering skyline, the streets she had once known so well. Her

up to the Savare Hot

an she remembered. Bigger. N

r, and the moment she entered, a ma

el," he greeted smooth

diately. The lobb

oss polished marble floors. The furniture-sleek, moder

seen bea

ded events in halls even grander than this. S

this specific pl

assist yo

th. Her smile was warm but distan

finest rooms.

t didn't take long before the reception

e on our eleventh

word, slipping it between he

tor ride

es flicking up to the panel of buttons.

an down a dimly lit hallway. The carpet muffled their st

ey card. A soft beep. A green

ent of quiet luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows overl

the view, She tipped the man, b

he door shut

too weak to b

d collapsed onto the soft matt

*

ssed, Darla stand in

ure, smooth fabric clinging to her skin. The high slit sto

into a high ponyta

klace, gleaming under the dim hotel lighting.

oked p

ed to be

, was t

without a second thought, s

uld do what she

rrived at the Cla

could hear the music thumping from the gar

they were c

ith ease, blending into the crowd

't know w

e knew

room-watching, waitin

anded on them.

out effortlessly as she raised her glass of wine. Her fingers, perfe

stood Roy,

er than she remembered. He looked older, more refined. B

n wasn't eve

matedly as he spoke to the men surroundin

ght, Four years, Four years

move. Memorizin

moment carefully. Every

mily would know what

be the one t

a spoon against gla

s turned toward the golden couple sta

ifting his champagne flute high

ly wife, Esther-who has stood by my side for four incredible years.

al, glasses poised in the ai

hrough his, pressing herself clo

ld help but laugh at how they created th

rned beneath her skin

-her gaz

t of her was

glasses, stacked elegantly, tw

d around her red bag as

y knew her

sary, my darli

ance that once made her skin crawl. He lif

choed, glas

er move, One glas

ng around the stem of a single

structure

ir, champagne cascading across the expensiv

y single pers

Some wide with shock, others na

ch, it was exactl

hed champagne glass higher, a smir

sary." She spa

gotten the attent

nd Es

s were tha

nuckles turned red. Roy stood stiff, his gaze locke

head, letting h

years together?" she mused, voice light, teasing. "Feels

, Roy. Really. Well

ned from R

took a slow step forward, scanning

His voice

s chest. Knowing that it took

hy wo

er the woman he

rs becoming this

oy." She said as she

t past him.

her. Close enough to see th

her voice light, "w

inhale from Esth

w the answer to her question, she had been watchi

uldn't

ing between the lines of every interview, every

y, her voice lowering

? Considering how much you cared about sex, I would

ce now drai

ck, as if trying to put

lp.Darla fol

at the edge

ickered across Esther's car

basking in the

s ear and whispered, just

ld him the trut

r sti

locked. It was barely a s

or Roy t

wife-quick, searching, suspic

!" Esther

en turn, she felt it-

er out.She didn't need to

, twisted it over her head-an

a

second glance.She simpl

, she lo

o Roy's eyes

heir shock. Their fear.Her

me." she said as

ther." she stated and then tur