"I warned you about him, didn't I? I told you to be careful around him. Then why?"
Alina steadied herself. She tried to think of some explanation that would calm him but couldn't think of any. Because he was right.
"I…I didn't accept his gifts because he gave them to me," she said. "I accepted them because…I appreciated the ideas behind them."
Austin snickered.
"Really Alina? I don't think you're that naive."
She curled her fingers nervously at her sides.
"I didn't encourage him or lead him on. I set boundaries with him when he offered me the necklace."
"And you think that makes everything right?"
Her patience ran out.
"Listen…he gave me a gift that crossed a line, and I refused it. But you're acting as if I've done something unforgivable."
"You hid it from me," he almost shouted.
"I was waiting for the right moment," Alina shot back. "And I handled it."
"You handled it?" he scoffed. "By accepting gift after gift while knowing exactly what it meant?"
"Yes."
