ACE
I stayed where I was long after the door stopped rattling in its frame.
The house had a way of holding onto moments like that. Anger lingered in the air, thick and sour, as if the walls themselves were waiting to see what I would do next. I rubbed a hand over my face and let out a slow breath, trying to steady the churn in my chest.
I still could not fathom it.
Ella had always been ambitious. Possessive. Calculating. I had known that from the start. She liked control, liked proximity, liked the illusion of influence. She had never hidden that part of herself from me. I had tolerated it because it was predictable, because I knew how to manage it.
But Alice?
Hurting Alice had never crossed my mind as something she would do. Manipulate me, yes. Lie, yes. Push boundaries until I noti
