Langston carried me to bed.
The memory makes my lips curve into a small, private smile as I stare at the ceiling. I remember the way I’d burrowed into his chest without thinking. The way he hadn’t hesitated. The way it felt… easy.
Mrs. D’s voice drifts through my thoughts next.
Get along with your new husband, she’d told me yesterday, squeezing my hand. You never know what can come out of an opportunity like this.
She hadn’t said it like a warning.
She’d said it like hope.
I roll out of bed, my feet padding softly across the floor, already mentally lining up everything I need to do today. The nonprofit notes. The calls. The momentum. I’ve made real progress—more than I ever expected in such a short time—and the realization fills me with a quiet pride as I head downstairs.
Langston is in the kitchen, back to me, pouring coffee into my favorite mug like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
The sight of him does something to my chest.
“Good morning,” I say softly.
He turns, eyes flicking to me immediately, and hands me the mug without a word. Our fingers brush—brief, unintentional—and I pretend it doesn’t send a small spark through me.
“Thank you,” I say, wrapping my hands around the warmth.
“Would you like—” Langston starts.
My phone buzzes.
I glance down automatically.
Ariana:
Prepare.
That’s it.
My stomach drops.
Before I can even process what that means, my phone starts ringing. The name on the screen makes my shoulders lock instantly.
Celeste Kensington.
My stepmother.
I hesitate for half a second, then answer—because I know she won’t stop calling until I do.
“Hello,” I say carefully.
Langston notices immediately. The shift in my posture. The tension creeping up my spine. He steps closer, his voice low.
“Put it on speaker.”
I do.
“Sabrina,” my stepmother says brightly, as if we’re the kind of people who speak often. “There’s an elite event happening in Chicago this weekend. Your father and I will be flying in to attend. Have Langston put us on the list.”
I close my eyes briefly.
“I—okay,” I say. “I don’t even know if Langston knows about the event.”
