For the past several days, I had been deliberately giving Sebastian the cold shoulder.
He sent one message after another, but I stopped replying to all of them. When he showed up at my office, I made certain I was never available and had my secretary turn him away.
Instead, I spent that stretch of time attending several high-profile banquets with Julian, at his side as his fiancée.
Sebastian was present at more than one of those events.
He watched my hand resting in the curve of Julian's arm, and his eyes burned with a jealousy so raw it felt as though he was trying to consume me with his stare alone.
I pretended to notice none of it and kept a small, practiced smile fixed on my face.
Beside me, Julian leaned in close without warning, his breath warm against my ear as he murmured, "W
