Eventually, the car slowed. Eventually, the world came crashing back in. Williams was waiting. He wasn’t alone. A full security team stood beside him, suited, stone-faced, and clearly prepared to drag us both back by our collars if needed.
“You and I,” Williams said, not looking at me, but at Marcus, “are going to be having a little talk.”
I stepped out of the car, trying to intercept the fire. “If you want to yell at someone, yell at me. I’m the one who”
“Miss Vale,” Williams cut me off, “you’ll get your turn.”
I didn’t expect him to be gentle—but I also didn’t expect him to personally escort me back to my room, like I was a rebellious teenager who’d missed curfew. At the door, he didn’t say goodnight. He didn’t even glare.
He just said, “We’ll talk in the morning.”
The silence that
