len

t sleep

art. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind filled with my mother's face in the ICU, pale, still, machine

I turned it off and sat up, stiff and

ust have pulled it up before dawn, when focusing

en longer than needed

rang

lert, as if he'd been waiting

myself with a steady voice.

away. When he did, his

essentials, clothes, and personal it

blurted faster than I inte

cal team is ready. Once the contract is

. "When do I

t Fenmore Group headquarters. You'll have legal

t have a

insists the contract is legally so

he does,

I said.

," Sebas

irst time he

Ye

e added carefully, "you'r

ine we

ed in s

*

ng I owned fit inside it. I folded clothes that still faintly smelle

my parents on their wedding day, my mother smiling at graduation, her hand on my shoulder. I slid

ffed bear from the closet. I hadn't touched

The desk. The kitchen. The window. The bed. Eve

door quiet

rived exact

hout a word, though his eyes flickered at its size. The

rite café, campus, and my mother's apartment

hone

mom? Want to gr

until the screen dimmed,

*

ssible to miss. The car vanished into a private entrance, and I was

waiting when th

exhausted

dn't s

f that was expe

Ye

through floor-to-ceiling windows. The city looked small fr

ve soon," he said. "Mr. Fe

I asked before I

"Private. Controlled. H

he be

stay cold because it's easier," he said. Wh

gh the contract slowly, stopping whenever I tensed. Separate be

c Fenmore entered,

pected. His presence filled the room

than the file ind

he first th

, impersonal. He sat, glanced at h

ques

d hun

," I

without h

ollo

shook as

edding is tomorrow. Sebastian will

's surgery,

p.m. You'll be i

door. "Welcome to

n he

d, with manicured grounds, fountains, a

gger than my en

y, I sank onto the bed, pressing my face into my hands.

in the silence, I s

name won't bel

sed my

not