na Viti

lla's finger was the

l chandeliers, sending aggressive little ra

owd er

Dante on the back, while women in silk g

est!" someone toasted, their v

hands clasped tightly behind

haking fro

exhausting effort of existing

nd up, admiring the ring, preening li

s found me in

ened into somet

ting through the din. The room quieted ins

e was impassive, a be

like the Red Sea, but instead of awe, their

re. The

willing my voice to remain steady.

extending her manicured hand.

ll, unassuming clutch

s. They were simple, elegant, and had cost me three months of

box. She didn't even g

ped immediate

art s

forg

, to hide the bandages on my a

st a string of rough, unpolis

his thumb over those stones. He used to count them whe

.. you're here, S

followed Is

fro

drop ten degrees, sucking th

t. His grip was like a vice, crus

emanded. His voice was low, vi

ing to pull bac

Isabella

She clutched her chest, her face twis

thy. "Dante, that's the bracelet I wore when I too

oom g

The jealo

d from Isab

bracelet was worn down by my fingers, that it fi

w a t

ark with disgust. "Is nothing sacred to you? Yo

the words choking me. "

r steppe

explanation. He didn'

ng his

he side of my head with t

, the world til

ht on the hem

shing directly into

shat

hundreds of crystal flutes

d into my ar

soaked my hair, stinging

gasping for air, tasting

. She held a glass of

d it over

dripping down my cheeks like false te

my eyes, blinking thro

red blur,

toward me. He was

nds with frantic tenderness to make sure