e Bea

ng with a team of stylists, all of whom I politely dismissed. I dressed myself, my movements stiff, robotic. The jewelry fe

was pale, my features sharp with grief and resolve. This wasn't the Carlie Gage had w

lid into the plush leather seats, the silence inside even more deafening than the one in my

f champagne glasses. The air was thick with expensive perfumes and the scent of money

in a tailored tuxedo, a forced smile on his face. He reached fo

whispered, his voice low, poss

cameras that flashed around us. The world saw a reunited co

Gage introduced me to various dignitaries, his hand resting protectively on

she ap

ee W

her smile wide and predatory. Her eyes, however, w

de me, his grip on

tered, his voice laced with anno

smile playing on my lips. "Or was that j

ixed on Brylee, who was n

" Gage said, his voice st

gala for the world," Brylee purred, her eyes never lea

ed insult, a jab at my perce

vents," I replied, my voice steady, betraying none of the tu

tered, replaced by

his body a barrier. "Br

e dripping with malice. "Everyone should know w

d my neck, the one Gage had present

vely sweet. "Almost identical to the one Gage gave me for ou

given her the exact same necklace, a symbol of his supposed

opened his mouth to protes

little secrets. And Carlie, dear, you should too. Ask him about the 'private' gallery he set up for me, a lit

as a surprise for me, a place to showcase my art. Another lie. He had shown me an empty r

looked horrified, a flicker of genuine regret in his eye

words, raised her voice, ensuri

Gage?" she sneered, her eyes glittering with triump

wine from a passing waiter and, with a swift, deliberate m

ead across the blue si

asp rippled th

fied, capturing the humilia

out of his stupor, ro

e slipped away, her eyes wil

e raw humiliation. The stain on my dress fel

oked from Brylee to me, his

spered, reaching for me. "Let

was everything. The lies, the b

him, and saw not the man I had l

shock, pity, and thinly veiled amusement. The entire

ed over me, a familia

to flee, to disappear, to si

uldn't.

und, even if it was

this night, not just as Brylee's tri

a sudden, piercing shrie

anging precariously above the b

he hall, followed by the terr

c er