Chapter Twenty Six
(Adrian’s POV)
I walked into the Blackwood gala exhausted.
The kind of exhaustion that settled beneath the skin and made every sound sharper than it should’ve been. I had spent the last week avoiding Nia’s calls, ignoring her attorney’s messages, and telling myself she would come to her senses if I gave her enough silence.
But tonight, even I could hear how thin the lie had become.
That was what I had told myself every morning.
By tonight, even I could hear how thin the lie had become.
I had barely stepped into the ballroom when my mother’s voice cut through the music.
“How dare you speak to me that way?”
My head snapped toward the sound.
A crowd had gathered near the champagne table. People stood with glasses half lifted, pretending not to stare while making s
