I bite my lip, grinning as I type back.
Underwear isn’t, is it? :)
The elevator doors slide open and Adriana steps out first in to the lobby. By the time they close behind me, my smile is gone. My breath, too.
Leah.
She stands at the reception desk, laughing with Greg. Taller than I expected, colder too. Blonde hair twisted in a flawless bun, her pale-blue suit sculpted around her like armor. Perfect. Impeccable.
“Oh, Della!” Greg beams when he sees me. “You’re full of surprises. You never mentioned you knew Miss Kingsley.”
He turns to her. “I’ll set that meeting for next week, Miss Kingsley. I’ll be in touch.”
Greg and Adriana drift away, leaving only her.
“Della, darling.” Leah’s smile spreads, sweet as poison on a blade. “So good to see you again.”
“Can’t say the same.” I steady my voice. “Why are you here, Leah?”
Her eyes glitter. The smile sharpens.
“Straight to the point? Even better.” She leans in slightly, her perfume sharp and cold. “I came to wish you a safe trip home.”
“I’m not leaving,” I answer, ice threading my tone as I hold her gaze.
For a heartbeat, her smile falters, then reforms, tighter.
“You really should leave, Della.” She takes a step closer, her voice dipping low, serpentine. “For good. Forever.”
I meet her stare, force a small smile onto my lips just to spite her as I touch the ruby.
“You don’t scare me, Leah. Dorian told me everything.”
“Oh?” She tilts her head, feigning concern, fingertips brushing her cheek in mock innocence. “Did he?”
“Yes, he did"I fire back. My stance doesn’t shift. "He told me about your fake pictures and snake behavior."
And, without even blinking, she strikes back, sharper.
“Did he also tell you how he saved his business? How he sold you and your love… for money?” Her tone drips like acid. “My money?”
The words punch the air from my lungs.
The world goes silent, and the joy I’d felt just moments ago drains from my body. My knees nearly buckle. My chest clenches tight. I feel her poison clawing through me, burning. Selling me?
The hand, resting on the ruby, drops as if it has been struck.
But I won’t let her see me break.
I lift my chin.
“He told me,” I say evenly, though my pulse hammers in my throat. “He told me I am his only true love—the one he would burn the world for, just to keep me safe and smiling.” I let the words sink in before I add, softer but deadlier: “He told me I am his heart. His fire.”
For the first time, the mask cracks. Her lips twitch, her composure quivering. A flush rises against her perfect cheekbones. Barely there—but I see it. And I know my words hit like venom.
I force a step back, voice cutting clean.
“And now, if you’ll excuse me—I have far more important things on my agenda. Goodbye, Leah.”
