y. Her throat seized up. She forced a dry, trembli

leep," she stuttered.

thetic lie. He propped himself up on on

in the dim light. They carried

Even if they fought during the day, physical intim

int and laundry detergent, brushed against the side of Aliy

ve ending in her body screamed in rejection. This was the

al instinct violently overrode her fear. Aliya threw bo

e force pushed him backward. His back hit

th in Cyrus's eyes vanished, replaced by a freezing

king at a stranger. "What

r air. Her brain spun out of control. She need

say she was terrified. The original owner's entire

ion, Aliya's eyes darted to the

e a baby!" sh

een his eyebrows showed his absol

arely afford rent! You're killing yourself delivering food every d

alistic panic, shifting the entire

n reality. It acted like a physical needle, piercing direc

s at the warehouse today. He remembered the pathetic f

gh his hair. His voice dropped an octave,

unfiltered panic. "What if there's an accident? What if it breaks? We can't afford to gamble on a '

word "lives," forcing him

raged in his eyes. He knew this woman was vain and greedy,

ent incompetence. She was disgusted that

ess fury spread through Cyrus's chest. But

ed over, turning his back to Aliya, and

cold as ice. "Until you fe

The heart Aliya had suspended in her th

he lay back down, but maintained her highly

l bed. A massive chasm of missing information and