Page 21 of Pastel Kisses

She drugged me again.

“What?” I mumble, forcing my sluggish brain to catch up.

Sarah stands before me, her smirk stretching wide, eerie, like that fucked-up cat fromAlice in Wonderland. The smile doesn’t reach her dark, soulless eyes, and the sight of her makes my skin crawl.

“Sorry about the grogginess,” she chirps, way too chipper for someone holding another person hostage. “I installed a TV for you and had to drug your food. I didn’t expect you to eatallof it.” She clucks her tongue in mock disappointment, like a mother scolding a child for bad manners. “But it was much too big a project to keep you up for.”

Her words take a second to register, but when they do, my attention shifts to where she gestures over her shoulder.

Installed?

Sure enough, a TV now sits mounted on the wall. But it isn’t just any TV—it’s encased in a thick protective box with a plexiglass cover, leavingzeroaccess to the device itself.

“Now you can watch the news conferences your dad and the guys do regularly tobegfor your return,” she cackles, eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure.

Stay calm. Stay. Calm.

I swallow back the bile rising in my throat and force my lips into something resembling gratitude. “Thank you,” I murmur, voice soft, pliant.

Sarah’s smirk falters—just slightly—before she masks it again. “Your breakfast is upstairs. I’ll be back soon.”

She returns later with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. At least, that’s what I assume it’ssupposedto be. The food is ice-cold, the eggs stiff and rubbery, reeking of something slightly off. Like she cooked them last night and left them sitting out to rot before dumping them in front of me.

The smell alone turns my stomach, but I bite back my revulsion and force myself to eat.

Sarah watches me, perched in her usual chair just out of reach, eyes narrowed as if waiting for me to complain.

I don’t.

I chew, swallow, and pretend I don’t notice the way the food sticks to the roof of my mouth like paste.

“I’m going to see Jaxton today,” she blurts, watching me carefully.

My stomach clenches, but I don’t stop eating.

“We’re slowly rekindling our love,” she continues, voice lilting with smug satisfaction. “It’s like you didn’t exist.”

She’s waiting for a reaction.Daringme to give her one.

I force myself to stay silent, to let it slide off me like water on wax.

Instead, I set my fork down and meet her gaze. “I miss him so much.” My voice cracks just enough to sound real. “Please, let me go. I won’t tell anyone.”

The words come out smoothly, as though I believe them, but webothknow it’s a lie.

Sarah clicks her tongue in mock pity. “Avery, quit begging. It’s pathetic. You need to accept that they don’twantyou anymore.”

She steps forward, toeing the invisible line of my reach, her smile slick and poisonous—like Rumpelstiltskin offering a deal too good to be true.

I couldtryto lunge, to make my move now… but it’s not the right moment.

So, I let her take my plate without resistance.

She glares at the half-eaten meal, clearly annoyed I didn’tgagover her sadistic breakfast surprise.

Her irritation fuels me.

Every single thing she does is designed to chip away at me—tobreakme. But she doesn’t realize that the longer I endure, the stronger I become.

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