"You're not a child anymore," Declan said as rain slanted on the taxi glass.
"Then act like one," I snapped, my veil whipping around my face like a bad joke, and I shoved my hand between the folds.
"Get back in the car," a man's voice hissed from behind me.
"Who are you?" I asked the taxi driver without looking at him. My fingers found the handle, then the strap of the box hidden under my skirt. The ring box. I had promised myself one thing: never let them see how much this hurt.
"Lady, you can't be on the curb covered in—" The driver broke off when his phone buzzed. He glanced down and swore. "Jesus. That's—you need to go."
A screenshot flooded my screen like a blow. Declan Burris stepping out of a Maybach. Kaia's name under a date. A hotel lobby in the background. A headline bouncing across the top: BURREIS ENGAGEMENT CONFIRMED—Burris Holdings Announces Alliance.
"Is that—" I tried to laugh and the sound came out sharp.
"Is that what you think?" Declan's voice was close enough that I felt the rain hit my shoulder in coordinated cold. "It's public now."
"I didn't—" I said. "I thought—"
Finn's laugh was on my other line. "You ran. Classic. We should make it trend."
"Finn," I said, and the name felt like someone pulling at a stubborn knot in my ribs.
"You're making a scene," a
