"Wait."
Regina's body froze.
That word again.
Last night—it was the same last night. She had dared to hope, foolishly, desperately, that this man would help her. That he had pulled her into his world for a reason. That maybe, just maybe, he wasn't like the others.
She had been wrong.
Martin's lazy voice broke through the charged silence, smooth and teasing.
"What, don't you want the money anymore?"
Regina's fingers clenched into fists at her sides. She lifted her gaze, her vision blurred with unshed tears, but she refused—refused—to let them fall.
Slowly, she turned back.
Her reddened eyes, burning with anger and humiliation, locked onto Martin's deceptively harmless smile.
"I don't need it."
Her voice was hoarse, but steady.