ROSETTE’S POV
“Patricia.” I didn’t offer my hand.
She stepped forward, arms opening as if to embrace me.
“Rosette, darling, I’m so glad I found you—”
I stepped back. Let my expression frost over to ice.
“Don’t.”
Patricia froze, arms still extended, humiliation flickering across her face before she masked it with wounded dignity.
“I only wanted to—we should talk. Clear the air. I’ve just been released from the hospital, you see. A heart attack. The stress of everything nearly killed me.”
She waited for sympathy. For shock. For some crack in my armor.
I gave her nothing.
“How unfortunate for you.”
“Rosette, please.” Her voice pitched higher, desperate now. “Ethan is destroyed. He barely eats, barely sleeps. He loved you—I see that now. I should have seen it before. I was wrong, so
