Hazel eyes pop wide. "You will? You'll stay here for the rest of our visit? I thought you hated it here."
I do, but the confirmation I need cannot be attained in one day, over a short congratulatory visit. I need more time.
So I nod. Let her believe the words. Let her bask in the lie. It's so easy, pretending. Her arms come around me a second later, so f*****g easy to please.
The mansion is as I remember it. Archaic in its taste, yet new and untouched. It was the first thing I'd wanted when I laid eyes on this place. And restructuring my mansion to fit it didn't quite do the beauty of it justice.
Eyes latch onto us—me—the moment we cross the threshold and they do not let up, even when we mingle with the crowd.
The hostility brings me warmth and pleasure. Knowing that they hate me enou
