DANIEL
The apartment door slammed behind Ava with a finality that echoed through my chest like a gunshot. I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, the sting on my cheek still burning hot from her slap. My hand rose slowly, fingers brushing the spot where her palm had connected. Deserved. Every bit of it.
The necklace lay on the floor where it had fallen, the delicate gold chain coiled like a sleeping snake, the pendant catching the low lamplight in a soft, mocking gleam. I bent down and picked it up, the metal warm from her skin. Instant regret crashed over me like icy water. What the hell had I been thinking? Giving her that piece, pushing it on her like some childish claim of ownership. I had wanted Julian to see it, to feel the knife twist. Instead, I had driven a wedge straig
