Page 79 of Legacy
She’s a fucking storm dressed in armor.
My mouth goes dry. My heart slams once, twice, like it’s trying to fight its way out.
She doesn’t smile.
Her eyes flick across the penthouse. Roses. Dim lighting. The food. The table. Her brows raise just slightly.
“You redecorate for every woman you chain to your name, or am I just lucky?”
Her voice is calm. Velvet, but stone cold.
It guts me.
Still, I can’t stop staring at her.
“Scarlet,” I breathe.
She freezes.
Just slightly. Just enough.
“Adriana,” she snaps softly.
“I’ve only known you as Scarlet.”
“Not anymore. Not after five years. Not aftersilence.”
I swallow hard and step forward before I can stop myself.
She steps back.
Fuck.
The distance is worse than I imagined.
“You’re here,” I say, because it’s all I can manage. Because it feels impossible.
“Because I had to be.”
A beat. Just long enough for me to hate myself again.
“I wanted to call—”
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t mean now, I meant—”
Her eyes lock on to mine and I freeze.
“You meant what?” Her head tilts.
Her tone. She’s not even trying, she’s not willing. Shewantsa fight. A game.
Fine.
“I mean I would have called, but I’m sure you changed your number.”
She stills. Almost like she stops breathing.
