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Sleep had been elusive, and Adalynn finally pulled herself
out of bed early. She grabbed something from the fridge and
headed up to her editing studio before Cassia was awake. She
locked herself in, barricading herself physically like she was
mentally. Except that her mental barricades needed major
work. In short, they were faulty, full of holes, and failing fast.
All morning, like the previous night, she’d seen snippets of
Cassia behind her eyes, as real and alive as if she was standing
right in front of her.
After several hours of fruitless editing, Adalynn let out a
sigh and slumped over at her desk in front of her computer.
She pushed the keyboard out of the way so she had space to
flatten out her cheek. She knew she was in an impossible
situation, and she’d made it that way for herself. She’d gone to
Vegas and brought Cassia there. Had she really thought she
could just keep her distance and send Cassia on her way at the
end of the month? Yes, yes, she had. Even though she’d
known how hard it would be.
Cassia was like a whirlwind. She was a storm battering
against closed shutters, against walls that weren’t as firm and
sturdy as they’d once been. Walls that were ready to cave in
and fall, even if it meant disaster. Adalynn knew she was ready
to break. Ready to shatter. She’d been ready for a long time.
She’d lived ten years of her life in another world, and the
past was the past. She was exhausted trying to justify it to
herself and everyone else. She was exhausted being the person
the world thought they knew. Did she even know who she
was?
She’d been so carried away in keeping Pierre’s work and
legacy safe that she’d made living for someone who had
