Chapter 129
There's No Time to Waste
I arrived home carrying the weight of the day like a second skin. I already knew what waited for me inside. I dreaded it but avoidance had never saved anyone.
The moment I stepped through the front door, the shield I'd built around myself cracked.
Mother stood in the foyer beneath the chandelier's warm glow, my hastily scribbled note crushed in her hand. Her expression was porcelain-perfect fury, makeup unable to hide the fine fractures of worry etched beneath it.
"Where have you been, Alayna?"
The question snapped through the air. Before I could answer, her gaze dropped to the box map clutched against my chest.
"And what is that?"
"My stuff. And I needed air, to clear my head," I said carefully.
Not a lie. Just not the whole truth.
"Do not lie to me." Her voice sharpened. "Our neighbor saw you boarding a public bus. To the Royal General Hospital. Have you forgotten who you are about to become? The bride of the Haltons."
