lf in the familiar comfort of lines and angles. He didn' t say anything, just stood in the doorway, watching me. I could feel hi

his voice startled me

look up.

her told you to h

" I said, my

s expression unreadable. For a moment, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes, something that

the competent professional, not the desperate social climber. It m

' s neighbor. My heart instantly seized with a familiar fear. "Ele

ted. "I'm com

my purse. Julian was staring at me

ospital." Panic clawed at my thro

keys. A hand closed around my arm, stopping me. It was Julian.

. Julian drove with an unnerving speed and precision, navigating traffic with aggressive c

l against the stark white sheets. A doctor was explaining tha

n too much for her. When she saw Julian standing behind me, a wave of anxiety wash

rushing to her side, tak

sacrifices. He stood there, awkwardly, a symbol of the powerful family we were now indebted

ight questions, understanding the medical jargon. I was no longer the terrifi

whispered, her voice weak. "Don't leave him. Please. Look at what he did, coming here with y

y concern was societal judgment, my reputation, our security. She saw Julian's presence not as an intrusion, b

my voice thick with unshed

hospital. The sun had set, and the city lights blurred past the wind

ce was laced with a familiar, cutting cruelty. "Quite the performance back there. Is your whole family

, all the strength I had projected, crumbled in that moment. I turned t

tress of this sham marriage, the one you and your family forced

in my voice. He had expected tears, or a fri

s sick," he said, his own

sper as the car rolled to a stop in front of the mansion.

und of my footsteps echoing in the grand foyer. I had never felt so alone. Trapped by my mother' s illness, ti