Violet

I took a deep breath, forcing my chest to rise and fall even though it felt like all the air had been punched out of me. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by him. This wasn’t about feelings, or about me. It was for Sebastian.

Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could matter.

“Yes,” I whispered. “If it was any other man, I would have given myself to him. You make no difference.”

The silence that followed was louder than the ringing in my ears. The instant the words left me, I wanted to take them back, but it was too late. I swallowed, waiting for the backlash.

I watched...