wasted

re full of pictures of Ju

ue Love with Indie Songstr

real, her quirky glasses glinting

, looking utt

th the same extravagant a

slots at exclusive clubs he owned. Whispers of a re

y, replayed with a

hattan penthouse, a pri

ightstand. She hadn't signed th

rts, scrolled through the

Chloe was a fresh stab of..

a template, eas

g special. She

s Julian had posted were lax, probably as

the private clin

face pale, but her eyes

va

eathing in the familiar sc

whispered, her breat

you too,

her hand. She didn't tell Mia

c, about a new piece she w

id softly, after a long silence. "But I'l

ried. "Where a

r." Ava forced a smile. "I lov

you to

had ever done. Harder than losing th

. But staying meant condemnin

use, Ava began to

r clothes Julian had bought

y. Real money, not Julian' s "genero

ide were the simple, handmade gift

the beach. A bookmark she' d cross-stitc

. To her, they were remnants

incinerator chute i

pped them in. Watch

ng he

item, the clay bird, when she

. And

er by the

ed. "What ar

rowed, a smirk pl

some old things," Ava

y bird in her hand. He didn' t

e. The Vance diamonds. The one my mother wo

ce woman. That

something, a ghost o

retrieved the heavy,

e immediately turned to dr

as she walked back

Chloe hissed, her voice low and venom

a placeholder.

espond. She

her arm, spinn

me, don't you think?" Chloe t

glittered with a s

xclaimed, her h

e marble floor. Several large diamonds skittered awa

d react, Chloe

he top of a short flight of three marble sta

r head cracking against the shar

oded in h

. She clawed at her own arm, dr

va attacked me! She broke t

in, his face a

He saw Ava on the floor, dazed, the sha

k questions.

t Ava. "You hurt Chloe!

the hair, yankin

y!" he b

appeared

is eyes blazing. "Make her understand w

Ava away, ignoring

triumphant, cruel

, comforting her. "It's okay, m

isfied sigh as the guards ha

terrify, but not to leave marks that would be too o

ball, protecting h

nder. She was nothin

eapon. And Chloe was n