Scout’s POV
"You slapped her."
Alice drops the words like a heavy stone into the quiet car. Her fingers grip my shoulder, hard enough to pinch. I do not flinch. The heat from my own palm still burns, a bright, ugly sting that reminds me of Simone’s pale cheek spinning away from my hand.
"She went for the pearls," I say. My jaw clicks as I squeeze my teeth together. "She wanted to break them."
"She wanted to break you." Alice pulls her hand back, her manicured nails catching on my silk shirt. "The clerk checked the cameras outside the dressing room. Simone is barred from the boutique. Permanent ban."
I turn my head toward the window. The trees outside the glass blur into dark, jagged lines. The leather seat smells too rich, too heavy, like an expensive cage.
"It does not matter," I wh
