CHAPTER 95: More Secrets

　　The rest of the work day stretched before me like an endless desert. My gaze kept flitting back to my phone, wondering if Nicola had sent for me. Each unanswered ring, each silent notification, sent a fresh jolt of panic through me.

　　Was Nicola suspicious? Had she somehow discovered my transgression, The silence stretched on, a chilling echo of the uncertain future looming before me.

　　As the minutes bled into hours, a strange realization dawned on me. The deafening silence wasn't a harbinger of doom. It was the quiet hum of my own guilty conscience, a constant reminder of the line I'd crossed.

　　A wave of shame washed over me, hot and suffocating. I had strayed from the plan, and allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment. And for what? Because once Alexander found out the truth, I was certain he would never forgive me.