Page 156 of Sin
I laugh, watery and awful. “I don’t think either of us knows anything right now.”
“That may be true emotionally. Legally, we still need clarity.”
“Love doesn’t help, does it?”
“Not in the way people hope.”
That’s brutally honest. I kind of adore her for it.
Mara slides a folder toward me. “This is my engagement agreement. Take it home. Read it when you’re not actively being attacked by the internet. For now, I’ll make initial contact with Sinclair’s counsel and the company. Do I have your permission?”
“Yes.”
“And Laurel?”
I look up.
“Do not go to the office.”
My first instinct is to argue. Then my phone buzzes again with another unknown number. Another message. Another piece of proof that the world knows my name now. The argument dies.
“Okay,” I whisper.
Mara’s face softens again by that tiny fraction.
“I know that feels like losing.”
“It does.”
“It isn’t. It’s strategy.”
“I hate strategy.”
“No, you don’t. You design products. Strategy is half your job.”
When I step out of Mara’s office, I brace myself for… what? I’m not sure. There are no cameras waiting. No reporters. No angry mobs. Just rain and traffic and a city that still looks normal even though my name is burning through strangers’ phones.
Still, I keep my head down as I walk. My phone vibrates again. Sin. I stare at his name.
God, I want to answer it so bad, but I can’t. If I hear his voice, I’ll forgive everything. And that won’t help either of us.
I get into the Uber and stare out the window.
My name is public.
My career is uncertain.
The man I love belongs to a life that is collapsing in real time.
And for the first time since this started, wanting him is not the loudest thing in me.
Fear is.
By the time I reach my building, there are flowers outside my door. For one stupid second, my heart leaps. Wait. Not flowers. A funeral arrangement of white lilies with a black envelope tucked between them.
I grab the card before I can stop myself.
For the woman who helped bury a marriage: Hope spreading your legs was worth it.
