The days after the truth unraveled seemed to stretch longer than they should. The air inside the mansion felt different, charged with something unspoken, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see what she would do next.
Raelynn sat by the window of her room, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders even though it wasn't cold. The sky was the color of fogged glass, pale and quiet, and a breeze stirred the trees just beyond the stone balcony. She'd been watching the same branch sway for the past twenty minutes, but her thoughts were far more restless.
In the past few days, they'd come to her, one by one. Sloane, with her gentle voice and sad eyes. Kade, casual and open like he was telling her the sky was blue. Zake had said barely ten words but looked at her as if he expected her to bolt at any second. Reinhart had sat across from her and delivered it like a lecture, arms crossed, a brow raised like he was daring her to argue.
