Hailey
The pieces of my heart—so carefully held together, so desperately collected—trembled. They quivered, beating fast, erratically, as the fear of shattering into nothing but dust coiled around them, squeezing tighter with every passing second.
I held my breath. Struggled to maintain an expression—any expression—that wasn’t pure, unfiltered dread. And I hated myself for it. Hated how I felt this fear. Hated how close I was to begging him to look at me, to speak, to say something that would make this not real.
Maybe it was a joke. Maybe it was a nightmare. Please let it be a nightmare.
But Damien Black didn’t flinch.
Didn’t even bother to acknowledge me.
He just sat there. Casually eating his breakfast, his fork scraping against his plate—no, against my f*****g heart, stabbing the
