I stared in pain as the sun went down, slowly and gently kissing the sky, and darkness began creeping in silently like a dangerous thief. I had spent the last couple of hours alone—thinking, sitting, and walking around the pool area.

Aldrich had not come out of the house, something that completely baffled me. I didn't like what I was feeling. It was so unlike him to leave me alone like that, especially when my enemies were all gathered in one space. But that day, for reasons that did not sit well with me, he let me be. He didn't care to check on me. To see where I had...