m was t

ered through the gauzy curtains, but everything inside the room felt... wrong. Too stil

w and heavy in her chest. A noise too he

t up s

ay that could only tell her someone had bee

e bed, and her slippers were arranged carefully at the ed

came th

. No vetiver. No leather. Just

mal

ightly, sticky, and

oast. Coffee. A grapefruit cut to geome

dn't move. H

rknob c

fr

kno

like she owned the

e up. Good. I started to worry that yo

. Her fingers tighten

e as if the placement of that tool mattered. She plunked

eling?" she ask

sitated. "I

overwhelmed by weddings. All that attention. Adrenaline. E

ghtened. "I wasn'

were. But at times our minds read sha

a person

i, her smile widen

rom Savannah's standin

hat you need. We'll talk later. Maybe 

rd her. "Why do I ha

said. "Sometimes, the doors close 

m wh

ginary lint off her blous

out another word. Th

her stomach churned 

s greased with ambi

ing through documents as if with every

without even

di

id. "Consent documents

nsented to any

dark eyes steady.

a page t

h looke

r signature.

orged

imply forgot. The wedding was emo

ned. "You don't h

d. "And family trusts famil

agree to d

acy, my dear. You

en was t

played through hidden speakers. Savannah trudged barefoot throu

n he wa

a

unglasses off, sleeves rolled,

posed to be out

bed," she said, he

his head

t do

wh

orward. "Lie like

volunteered to marry a

clenched

the sort not to ask questions. Not at

e your voic

"I recall how you

lappe

Just smiled. "Now

into the hedge, his smell

tory shone l

blet with water. Orchids fl

the file,

you know that process

t sign a

"But your body did. Th

t's

flinch. "Th

racked. "Yo

in. "We

vase. It shattere

looked

quietly, "is not 

or grew foggy around her face. Her rob

idn't

ed into t

y cl

ter wa

elcom