Chapter 224

Something in the silky tone of his voice—a flicker of interest maybe—nudged her into a panic zone again. "My personal life is my own. Even with the shackles you bound me with, I still have friends who mean something to me. If you order me to cut ties with them, I won’t.

Last time you cut off my friends from me and gained control over my life, I was...I was too.

"Too high to even notice what was going on around you?"

She hadn’t even gone on the anti-anxiety medication that had been prescribed after her dad’s death, hadn’t wanted to numb the grief of his death.

But it was pointless to defend herself when he had already passed judgment.

"I know how much you resented my responsibility from the moment I stepped off that plane. It doesn’t have to be like that anymore.

Walking around the desk, he reached her side, and Kassandra fought the automatic impulse to step back, to keep some distance between them.

With his Greek-god good looks and smoldering arrogance, Darian had always made her feel