Adrian
A smile curved my lips as the call disconnected.
I could still hear it in her voice. The sharp edge of anger. The tremor beneath it. Emily was furious, and she didn’t even realize how much that pleased me.
Anger meant she cared.
Anger meant she was affected.
If she had been indifferent, I would have worried.
But she wasn’t.
I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled, staring at nothing as the echo of her voice lingered in my mind. I had waited too long for this moment. Too long watching her exist just beyond my reach, bound by obligations that never suited her.
Bound by a boy who didn’t deserve her.
Only I knew how long I had waited.
Waited for her to belong to me.
The memory of the engagement dinner rose unbidden, sharp and vivid. I had watched her the entire night, my
