Chapter 19
MIRANDA
The silence between us during the ride to the airport was suffocating, pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe. Kieran sat beside me in the car, his jaw tight and his eyes fixed on something outside the window, carefully avoiding my gaze. I knew what he was thinking—that Lucas's call had been about her, that Seraphina was awake and asking for him, that everything we'd staged last night suddenly felt like a noose around his neck instead of the protective armor I'd intended it to be.
I'd crossed a line by hanging up on Lucas. I knew it the moment I'd pressed that button, but desperation made people do stupid things, and I was nothing if not desperate to hold onto what little ground I'd gained.
The photographers were still camped outside the hotel when we
