Chapter 5

Lance didn't even think before saying without hesitation, "This afternoon, I was just..."

Then he stopped. Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong. The lies that had slipped so easily from his lips all night finally came to a halt.

Silence hung heavy in the air, thick and unmoving.

I didn't give him any breathing room. "You know," I said, "I was at the auction tonight."

His dark eyes widened with shock. "Why were you..."

"You're curious why I was there, aren't you?" I replied calmly, finishing his thought for him.

"To pay for your so-called depression treatment, I—once a girl of privilege—lowered myself to be a hostess at the auction. For your so-called depression, I've been working myself to death, leaving early, and coming home late. I've been living like a dog.

"Lance, for all the times that you lied to me, did you feel even a shred of guilt?"

My words struck him like lightning, leaving him frozen, as if turned to stone. He stood there, paralyzed, unable to speak for what f