MADISON RAE
I needed to breathe.
The air inside the manor had grown too thick — with headlines, with silence, with Alex's maddening indifference. I didn't know what I was looking for exactly. Maybe a glimpse of normal. Maybe just a minute to exist without being someone's headline.
I was halfway down the stairs, my coat thrown over my arm, when I heard his voice from behind me.
"You're leaving?" Alex asked, his tone even — too even.
I turned, already annoyed. "Yes."
"Where?"
"Out," I replied, walking toward the front door.
He was there in seconds, stepping between me and the handle. "That's not an answer."
I crossed my arms. "I don't owe you one."
His jaw tightened. "The media is circling like hawks. They've seen the photos. They've seen the news. You step ou
