The elevator doors closed behind me with a soft hiss, but the sound echoed in my chest like a gunshot. My body was still humming—thighs trembling, lips swollen, the taste of him lingering like a bruise I couldn’t see.

But my mind…

My mind was nowhere near the hotel.

It was trapped in the glow of my phone screen, in the six words that had cracked something deep inside me:

You shouldn’t have gone to him. — Caden_88

The same fingers that had been gripping the lapels of Darius's suit minutes ago were now shaking. It didn’t make sense. Two men. Two sides. But one heartbeat. One presence.

I pressed...