He squeezed my shoulder, his grip almost painful. "You’re already becoming her again. I’ll have my assistant clear the calendar for that weekend. Consider it a reward for how well you've been doing."
A reward. As if I were a pet that had finally stopped barking at the door. I closed the laptop, my heart hammering a triumphant rhythm. He was bought in. He was so blinded by his own ego that he couldn't see the woman beneath the mask.
The night was long and restless. I lay beside him, listening to the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, staring at the shadows dancing on the ceiling. Every creak of the house sounded like a footstep. I thought about the maintenance closet, the scent of peppermint and cedar, and the way Liam’s hands had felt on my waist—firm, steady, and terrifyingly real. I
