na

soothing her, his voice vibrating thro

where I had hit the wall, but the physical pain was a mercy, a

ed me. To p

rcles, collarbones protruding like coat hangers. How did he not see it? Ho

ecause he stopped lookin

plied makeup to hide the yellow ti

me pass; they didn't care where the barre

ait. A final image for the funeral service, so peop

ld me to smile. I tried, but the

roofs an hour later, the

. He was holdin

roze.

ity, fate had to choose th

d. His voice was low, dangerous. "

envelope to my ches

ed glowing. Pregnant. Victorious

ghed. "A bit late for a career ch

natched the envelope

I said, panic ri

ocking me. "What is it? Evid

ist. His grip wa

e," he

elope open. She pulle

k dress, looking serene and final. It

for a second, then twist

uicide threat? Dante, look. She's planning somethin

e. He looked unsettled, haunted even

"You threaten to kill yourself? You

e frame shattered on the floo

see you regret t

icked a piece of th

na, then die. Stop threa

ienna. We'll find another studio.

onto the floor, amidst the broken glass and the bl

ing for her passport pho

nymore, honey," she wh

didn't need a strange

It was raining. I didn't ope

rs from my purse and

n when I had a headache. He used to

ld me to hurr