the smell of butte
all bat. She slowly opened her eyes. The heavy curtains were
space beside her
n her neck stretched. On the mahogany nig
to it sat two slices of golden toast and a crystal glass of milk. Beside the plate was
rp, aggressive handwriting slashed ac
rom yesterday and this twisted, domestic 'heart-shaped' breakfast made bile ris
loor. She picked up the silve
toilet, tilted the plate, and watched the heart-shaped egg and
sucking the food down into the pipes. She wat
waiting for her in the underground garage. He drov
out of the black SUV, she
very movement. She heard fragments of sentences floating in the col
ide of her cheek and kept her eyes locked on the pavement. She needed th
he main plaza in fr
h of microphone feedbac
on the university's board of trustees. Preston was wearing a designer sweater, holding
Preston's voice boo
hones were immediately pulled out, c
nt, arrogant smirk. "I li
ed down the steps, holding the roses out toward her. He
drained from her face, leavi
omance. She saw
a. Somewhere, somehow, Boyd was going to see this. If he thought she was entertaining anothe
stop this i
She walked right up to Preston.
dened. He held the
cold and loud enough for the front row of students to
d by instant, humiliating shock. He had never been rejec
cheers turned into l
just reje
illionaire p
reaction. She turned on her
He dropped the megaphone. "You'll regret t
n into the library, seeking the darkes
y. She pulled her cheap, cracked phone from her pocket. She needed to know if Deshaun was
ered over the
breath. As she looked out the glass, her eyes focused on the tall
ng, a tiny, unnatural fla
lecting off a long
and clattered onto the desk. A pa
d put her on a larger stage, and he was watching eve
age to Deshaun. She couldn't contact anyone. She was
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