His Cruelty, Her Crown

opped up on Seraph

ulian Thorne' s private group for

She felt nothing, or ra

tapp

tly cut. Her, at Julian' s

msy stumble near a

ently as Julian spoke, her expression edit

t hers, dubb

re already

o you find these

d lick your shoes if

house-

the app. The fi

rang. Juli

answ

voice was smooth, amused. "

, Ju

. Now, for an encore. You know that stupid 'Ice

ng oneself with ice water, and making a

ublicly. Tag Brynn, tell her how much y

's glamorous, on-again

ht, Ju

n't disappoint

tood. This

family' s burden, whis

ep, binding one Hayes per

as her c

shimmering thread, nearly invisibl

er spirit,

k it, t

outlive him, process the grief. Too long. Too uncerta

y endured emotional sufferin

f cruelty she accepted, was

family' s. This was

and water from the small ki

ne to record. Knel

hit her. A sho

ords about Julian' s grea

post

Julian' s circle

tually

the

you own h

Yes. It felt thinner, frayed at the ed

ged. A messag

y. Now, I need a

all business now. "Critically important. At a diner. Dusty Trails Diner,

ned. This was n

ysical copy. W

sked, her voice

obl

The name of

ou' ll find it. Don' t fail me, Se

er bank account

est red-eye flight t

g over the Midwest

icking by. The thread pulsed, a dul

ing down. The bus ride was ro

down, neon sign flickeri

t found an old, forgotten envelope with his company l

bled slightly as she to

ave

that. Don't worry about it. Found a di

le

, Sera. Really. S

rain hammering the roof. The t

right. "Brynn just flew in to meet me. I got her a

hina

, look what I picked up

Julian! It's gorgeous! That silk sca

eek. He' d said it was a test, to see if she had good taste, and then to

n the line. "Thanks for the reminde

hun

It had frayed, significantly. She felt

s wor