nal hell. Alicia stood at the back, her reflection in the polished brass walls a pale, bruis

e stale regret, and pressed her thumb to th

ing she saw

s, kicked off carelessly near the entryway.

own flats and walked into the apartment. The air was thick with a cloying, sw

the white leather sofa. Her heart, which she thought couldn't break any further

r steps silent on the marble floor,

was sligh

shed i

was sitting at her vanity, wrapped in her silk bathrobe, d

cia's in the mirror. There was no surprise on her face, no pani

d, her voice a purr. "Jules though

, a towel slung low on his hips, another wrapped around h

rm, flickered to the makeshift bandage on her forehead

re not, Are you okay? The

kind of trick are

. She looked from his callous face to Bianca's smug one, and a wave

placing a protective hand on her shoulder, his voice softening

ened innocence. She shrank back, pressing herself against Julian's bare chest. "J

d was like gravel. "Borrowing?" she repeated, her voic

as nothing more than another one o

tood over her, looking down his nose at her as if she were something he'd scraped of

eting his icy gaze. "Ju

, his patience gone. "Bianca had too much to drin

e sofa, clearly intending to leave with Bianca. To leav

had been swallowing for three years erupted like lava. Her eyes darted around the room, land