The necklace burned against my skin. Not literally, but it might as well have. Every time I shifted, every time the delicate gem brushed the hollow of my throat, it felt like a reminder—a weight I couldn’t ignore.
I shouldn’t have worn it to bed. I shouldn’t have let him put it on me in the first place. But when I tried to take it off, my fingers froze on the clasp, paralyzed by some mix of guilt and—God help me—longing.
Ivy’s voice rang in my mind: You’re losing yourself.
And maybe I was.
The phone vibrated on the nightstand, slicing through the quiet.
Andrew.
Of course.
My stomach clenched as I swiped to answer, already bracing.
“Well, well,” his voice sneered through the line, low and dangerous. “My pretty little actress has a new accessory.”
My heart lurched. “Andrew—”
“Don’t
