burying the story under a landslide of carefully placed puff pieces and a well-timed charitable donation. The news cycle had moved

e had not

Inside, the silence was a physical weight, pressing down on Callie, making it har

His profile was perfect, like something carved from marble. There were no cracks. No sign of the chaos they had just left behind. H

e coldness radiating from him was a wall she couldn't seem to breach. She had held his hand in front of

building. The silence here was even deeper. Jaime got out the moment the car stopped,

antic need to keep up, as if letting him get too far ahead would mean he'd disappear

t onto a cream-colored armchair. It was a careless gesture, so unlike the meticu

hing him. The apartment, usually a sanctuary of

tumbler and drank half of it in one long swallow. Th

ace her. His eyes were

t," he said, his voice flat. "They'll handl

d, taking a step toward him. "Who

had been so full of warmth and reassurance just an hour ago, were now cold and hard

a slap. She flinched. The questions burned on her to

all, defeated

bedroom. The loneliness was a physical ache in her chest. This w

he changed into a silk nightgown and slid into her side of the enormous king-sized bed. The sheet

wa

wa

r remained empty and cold. Sleep was impossible. Her mind was a carousel of flashing c

oft, distant click of a door closing. Not the

ol carpet was soft under her bare feet

passed Jaime's study, she saw a thin line of yellow light s

bit, washed over her. He worked too hard. He was probably

gently knock, to tell him to come

e, breat

heart, which had been beating a slow, anxious rhythm

e was in pain. The sound

n the runner. She leaned in, pressing her ear to

ted by soft, desperate gasps. But it wasn't just one man. T

she hea

ined desire she had never, ever heard from him in the two years they ha

groaned. "

l blow. Leo. That was the name

g a hollow, frozen shell. Her mind simply refused to process it. It was a scene from a m

trying to escape. Her foot bumped into a tall, cer

ng a soft thump

, the moaning st

le

, her eyes wide with terror. She had to get away. She turned, ready to ru

was t

door was y

re. Jaime stood there, his shirt half-unbuttoned, his tie gone. His hair was

some man with dark, curly hair, frantically pulling on a shi

ce from the news. The dead man's... associate? Frien

she loved-it all shattered. It wasn't just a crack; it was a d

of seeing her there was wiped away, replaced by a glacial, ter

her throat, hot and aci

sound of pure disgust tearing from her chest. She turn

. She could feel his cold, indifferent e

ncontrollably. It finally gave way. She wrenched it open and stu

, her back sliding down the cool, mirrore

lent, and utterly devastating. They blurred the glittering lights of the

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