The knock came mid-afternoon—sharp, deliberate. Damien wasn’t home.
I almost didn’t answer, but the air shifted, that same thick tension curling through the hallway. I already knew who it was before I opened the door.
She stood there in heels that could stab through glass, sunlight catching the edge of her sunglasses.
“Surprised?” she asked smoothly. “I thought I’d see what kind of company my ex-husband keeps these days.”
I smiled, slow and calm. “You didn’t have to come all this way just to compare yourself to me.”
Her lips twitched, half-smile, half-snarl. “You think this is comparison? I’m warning you. Damien’s world isn’t meant for girls who play at power.”
“Funny,” I said, leaning against the frame. “I was about to say the same thing to you.”
For a moment, silence. Then she ste
