pte

Mont

red, and I could feel the blood boiling in my veins as I spun around to face her. Without thinking, I stormed toward the front door, my feet moving faster than my t

ould hear laughter, that unmistakable sound that made my blood turn to ice. I should have known better. Rose had tried to warn me, tried to make me understand that James wasn't the man I thought he was. Bu

he intruder. She was dressed in a way that made it obvious she didn't care about modesty, with the top of her blouse undone, hanging loosely an

ng with disdain. The look on her face made it c

sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this. I had to force myse

en though every part of me wanted to scream. My fists cl

m head to toe as if I was some kind of oddity. The judgment

she demanded,

feel Rose standing just behind me, probably whispering something under her breath, but I did

ritation, and she straightened,

nnounced, her words laced wi

der me, and I was falling into an abyss I couldn't escape. The words hit me harder than I ever could have imagined, like a knif

ded with a million thoughts, none of them making sense. The pain in my chest w

thing, a voice pierced thr

vy

onfused as I felt. His blue eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, I thought I might collapse into his arms. But th

turned on my heel and started walking away. My legs were shaking, and my breath came in quic

ng in the distance, but I didn't want to know if Jam

me, the sound of my heartbeat drowning out everything else. When I reached the tram, I barely made it inside befor

testament to the agony that was consuming me. All I could see was his face-James's face, th

ent

ouldn't have imagined, and I didn't know how to find solid ground again. Rose had always talked about how lucky I was, how f

looking all innocent and sweet-but that had been ages ago. I hadn

ce around him. I couldn't help but notice how his black hair seemed darker than mine, something that was hard to believe, but undeniable. It framed his face in a wa

h power. And all I could think