AVA'S POV
When Mark finally left, I didn't feel the guilt I had braced myself for.
Instead, a profound sense of relief washed over me.
Freedom.
It felt like the first true breath I'd taken in years, the air filling lungs I hadn't realized were collapsing.
I didn't register a single word Adrian said during the phone call that followed.
I couldn't tell you when the line went dead.
My entire world had narrowed down to the singular, primal need to get Mark out of my apartment, out of my space, out of my life.
My legs felt like lead as I dragged myself upstairs.
I peeled off my coat, then the lingerie—the tangible evidence of what Adrian and I had done last night.
A flush of heat crept up my neck as the memories assaulted me: the weight of his hands, the roughness of his touch, the wa
