Page 351 of A Vicious Love

I stood, because sitting on the floor made me feel too small. “I saw Veil.”

“What did you see?”

“Celeste.”

Silence. That was all the confirmation I needed. I laughed once, broken and sharp.

“You knew.”

“Sienna—”

“You knew the whole retreat.”

“Let me explain.”

“No.”

“Baby—”

“Do not call me that.”

The words tore out of me louder than I meant them to. My hand shook so badly I had to press it against my stomach.

He went silent again.

I could imagine him outside the gates, black car idling, Reeves somewhere nearby, Harlan bending around his anger because Harlan always did. For years, I had wanted him to come back for me. Now he was outside, and all I wanted was iron between us.

“You stood beside Celeste at Veyr House,” I said. “My family sent documents releasing me. You knew, and then you came to House Alder. You kissed me. You touched me. You let me think⁠—”

“Sienna, listen to me. It isn’t what you think.”

“It is exactly what I think. You wanted to humiliate me one last time.”

“No.”

“You got bored of ignoring me, so you tried something crueler.”

“No.”

“You made me believe you wanted me.”

“I do want you.”

“You are engaged to Celeste.”

“I am not marrying Celeste.”

“The documents say I’m released.”

“The documents are wrong.”

“Documents are never wrong in our families.”

“That’s not true.”

“It has been true my entire life.”

He breathed hard into the phone. “Open the gates, and I’ll fix this.”