ya

against the maho

Call

inating the dark living room with a ghostly blue glow, then fade back to bl

s. In my hand, I held the "Realm of Maya" necklace. I had fished it out of

t door u

d this. He still had a key. He

his hair windblown. He looked frantic. He loo

g just short of the armchair. "Why aren't you

pt my eyes fixed on the da

haling a sharp breath. "Look, about the gala... I'm sorry. Oka

eated. The word

e used in boardrooms. "I've spoken to the PR team. We're spinning it. You were unwell. It w

ut to touch

d to the fireplace and opened the glass part

nt Paris, L

flames. The diamonds sparkl

doing?" His voice

oppe

dn't melt immediately, but it lay there among the fla

he whispered, st

. "Or maybe I'm

in. This time, ther

ring white, a cruel parody of innocence. She held a tablet

, walking into the room as if she

"Ava, I told you t

traveling down to my stomach. "Besides, we need to discu

the coffee table where Liam had thrown his briefcase. I opened my

these,"

from Liam's cloud account, synced t

e baby is born, I'll ship her off to the Connectic

make sure she doesn't get f

e silent room. Ava's v

didn't look ashamed. He looked

dismissively. "Locker room t

everything

en like Liam need women like me. Yo

wn stomach. "And now, even that is redundant. My bab

htaking. It sucked th

, waiting to see if I would break. H

him n

folded piece of paper. It was the medical

t landed between us, a white flag th

said. My voice was st

His eyes scanned the medical jargon.

ay. The paper sh

this?" he

from three days ago. "I'm not having a basta

ide with shock and a dawning, ter

orrected him. "I

to her mouth. For the firs

er," Liam

smiled. It was a cold, broken thing. "I want a