MADELINE
I hated this.
The thought repeated itself like a mantra while I stood at the edge of the ballroom. My fingers wrapped around the stem of an empty champagne glass. The crystal felt fragile. Breakable. Like everything else in my life right now.
I hated that Cian was the last person I wanted to do this to. The absolute last person who deserved another manipulation. Another lie dressed up as something it wasn't.
But Aldric had been clear. Crystal clear in that way he had where his words felt like threats even when he was smiling.
Come late. While I play around with Cian's head.
The text sat in my phone like a ticking bomb. I'd read it fifty times since arriving at the Knight Estate. Each time it made my stomach turn over.
