Steel & Silk

s a noose dressed

uit i

hear my tailor whispering "perfection" with each stitch but because it rep

wrapped in roses, diamonds,

flection in the m

to be

gh to kn

to pretend

ike armor. People always said I looked like the Steel brother who had his shit together, sharp blue eyes, neatl

stoic silence, was a man who

rlo

ng her name made

rates a buzz in the background annoying, but bearable. I never even

t of we

ht of

Twins. En

dli

toast me at dinner yesterday

esn't mean being

love Ch

idn't eve

s. I stood up. Straightened my back. And wa

dow of my high-rise apartment. The view was beautiful.

ied. I

the click of a cage

ing back. That

ous. He never minced words, sugarcoated nothing. And he hate

o-timing snake"t

pologize

nging from his lips and wal

d him s

om. His b

hat people thoug

t

the

ho held t

ho cleane

was clean

placed the glass down hard

ways did when I was al

Wolf

dd

t w

g at you like she saw all

ment. No

e unders

aborators. But under all that, there wa

of hers, "If we ever want to explore someth

tation. It was

s hon

did I re

lotte pregnant

t her expression

hat split-second of disbel

led softly, and said

tung more t

y, and she nev

all. Did

misse

d her l

ged me, held me to standards

have to be the pe

just be.

an I couldn't trust to hand

at my phone. N

Fay. Not

about ca

xt

mething.

t would

ity of a future between us, but I m

het

d better th

r tha

ou didn't just lose a woman. You

as r

who knew which fork to use at a gala but didn't know how to ho

ed the S

go

t

ted p

control me. Who saw past

woman w

use

ne last time. I looked li

alw

uld never kn

in

was

attle between respon

losing mor

ould be

arlotte to shreds th

held hi

. maybe I n

ind me that th

idn't be

ay the one thing t

a

d like a curse

just a chap

book I shoul

I di

osed

tuck rereading