~CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT~
Breakfast ends the way it begins: heavy, quiet, and filled with things no one wants to say out loud.
The clinking of cutlery sounds too loud in the massive dining room. No one speaks anymore.
Valentina sits stiffly, Ivy looks pleased in a way that makes my skin crawl, and Hardin stares ahead like he is already somewhere else.
When he finally stands up, it is abrupt and final.
“I’ll be out for a few hours,” he says, adjusting his wristwatch. His eyes flick to me briefly. “Be ready by eight. I’ll pick you up. We’re going to the club tonight.”
No explanation. No invitation for objections. Then he walks away.
I watch his back disappear down the hallway, my chest tight with a mix of irritation and tiredness.
Staying inside this mansion, surrounded by people who
