My stepsister's fiance and I

familiar figure of the man approached, her breath

ment, the man

nstant, the tension in the room froz

f surprise crossing his eyes, but the emotion

who still had her hand raised mid-slap, awkw

ed exchange from moments ago, stepping forward to greet the man

oe's body stiffened. She sta

tting his teeth, and hissed in her ear,

What was his reason for showing up at Celeste's birthday cele

le as she joined Thomas. "Dorian, welcome! Thank you for coming to celebrate C

possessively. "Sweetheart, I didn't expect you so soon. I'm sorry you had to see that... My sister has a

, "But I suppose it's because she grew up without

. She's not my biological daughter, so soon she won't be tied to either

d stare, his expressi

s quickly as it had arrived, his eyes radiating indifference

oman who was greedy, selfish, and willing to sell herself for the right price. And after hearing Celeste and Susan's remarks, his contemp

ed with the beginnings of fake tears as she gazed at Zoe. "Can't you stop being so cruel to us, just this once? My mom may hav

d out to grab Zoe's sleeve,

touched, especially by someone as duplicitous as C

uch, but Celeste took full

if she had been shoved violently, and just

she could hit the ground, pullin

d at Zoe, his voice a dangerous whisper.

ly realized how foreign he had become to her. This was the same man she had

uckle escap

en she was younger, to college professors threatening to fail her if she didn't sleep w

ass of water from the table and spla

her meticulously applied makeup,

s onto the ground, where it shattered loudly, sending shards ski

sliced through the skin of the nearby family member

lamp down hard on her arm. She whipped aro

, but every time she pulled, Dorian only tightened his hold,

matter, Dorian? Getting rough with me in front of your fiancée?