The silence in the bedroom was unbearable.
Aria sat on the edge of the massive bed, her fingers clenched tightly around the edge of her silk robe. The room felt more like a prison than a sanctuary. The rain had stopped, but the air was still heavy with tension.
Damian had left an hour ago, slamming the door behind him without a word.
She hadn’t cried.
Not yet.
But now, with no one watching, her shoulders trembled. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face between them like a child trying to hide from a nightmare.
Except this nightmare didn’t go away when the sun came up.
Her skin still stung from where he’d grabbed her. Her heart thudded painfully every time she remembered the way he looked at her—as if she was nothing more than an objec
