At eighteen, Ivory Sterling has learned that love is as fleeting as it is painful. The weight of a past she cannot escape has left her heart frozen, her world reduced to silence and solitude. The one person she never had the courage to love is gone...
"Started in the strangest way, didn't see it coming."
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- D E C L A N - D A M I E N - F O R D -
I hadn't expected to see her like this.
She had always been sharp, assertive, and perhaps a little brash at times, someone who never hesitated to argue or push back when necessary, but as I stood at the entrance to her office and looked at her, I couldn't help but notice how different she was today.
Her eyes, usually so full of that spark and confidence, were dull. The light that had once been so evident was gone, replaced by an exhaustion that seemed to seep from her very bones.
Her face, once framed with a careful mix of self-assurance and a touch of defiance was now drawn and pale as though the weight of the last few weeks had aged her by years.
There was no sharp edge to her posture either, and no defiant tilt of her chin. She looked smaller, quieter, and a little lost under the weight of everything.
I didn't speak immediately as I crossed the room to her desk because I wasn't sure what to say. My mind, always calculating, always thinking of the next move, wasn't prepared for this.
Is this because of me?
No shit, jackass.
The Ivory I knew would've had something to say. She would've looked at me with that cynical little smile, ready to argue whatever new point I'd raise.
Instead, she just sat there, hunched over the papers in front of her with her fingers rubbing at her temples as though trying to will away the headache that had to be gnawing at her.
Her hand paused on the page when she saw me but she didn't bother with anything, not even looking up at me fully. She just got back to work, as if my mere presence was a hindrance to her work and a waste of her time.
That made my lips curl into a snarl and I glared at the top of her head, wanting her attention solely on me and not the fucking papers in front of her. I cleared my throat, the sound harsh in the quiet office.
"Ms. Sterling," I said, and even my voice felt out of place in the tense stillness, "I've reviewed the fourth version of the budget."
She finally glanced up, sighing heavily as if that small action took away ten years off her life before leaning back.
"I've adjusted everything according to your latest instructions." Her sharp gaze met mine as I set the papers I'd brought with me down on her desk but she didn't even pick them up, making me frown.
The budget was more than acceptable now, fine-tuned to meet the needs of the event and within the constraints we'd discussed. Yet, I couldn't ignore the fact that she had barely reacted.
