THE BILLIONAIRE'S BETRAYED BRIDE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: RUNNING

I didn't breathe properly again until I was back inside my own apartment, the door locked twice behind me, the noise of the city outside strangely comforting after the quiet of that estate.

I dropped my bag on the floor and sank down onto my bed, still in yesterday's navy dress, and let myself feel the full weight of what I'd just done.

I'd run out of a grieving family's home before breakfast like a criminal fleeing a crime scene. I hadn't even looked Alexander in the eye once since waking up beside him. I'd made up some excuse to the housekeeper and disappeared through a back staircase like a coward.

What is wrong with you.

I sat there for a long time, replaying the whole morning in my head — the knock on the door, the sound of Madam Hayes's voice, so warm and so unaware, and the cowardly, desperate walk down that back staircase.

She probably knew something was wrong by now. She probably knew I hadn't just had "somewhere to be." I'd basically confirmed it, running out the way I had.

I thought about calling her, apologizing properly, explaining myself somehow. But there was no explanation that didn't lead straight back to the truth, and I wasn't ready to say any part of that out loud, not even to myself.

I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling of my own small apartment, the events of the last twelve hours replaying over and over in my head no matter how hard I tried to push them away.

I had library shift in two hours. Class after that. A whole ordinary day waiting for me, exactly like every other day, except that nothing about today felt ordinary at all.

I closed my eyes and tried, uselessly, to figure out how I was supposed to face any of this later.