CLAIRE
I woke to the sound of my phone buzzing constantly, like it wouldn't stop, like something had broken loose in the world while I was asleep.
I rolled over in the unfamiliar bed, squinting at the bright sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. For a moment, I forgot where I was, then it all came rushing back: Julian, the contract, the engagement party, Ethan's face when he realized I was wearing a ring.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand and my stomach dropped when I saw the screen. Twenty-three missed calls and forty-seven text messages.
My heart started pounding as I scrolled through the notifications. Most were from blocked numbers, a few were from people I barely knew, old acquaintances and distant relatives I hadn't heard from in years, and three were fr
