chapter 108

Angela POV

The door clicked shut behind James, and the room felt even emptier and colder. His threats echoed in my mind like a taunting whisper, refusing to die down. "I’ll spill everything… every dirty little secret." The words replayed in my head, hitting like a sledgehammer.

It wasn’t the first time he’d dangled my secrets over my head. But something about today felt different, darker. I paced the floor, trying to ignore the pit forming in my stomach. But my thoughts kept circling back to that one piece of truth I’d buried long ago. The truth I never wanted Lyra to know.

My hand drifted to my abdomen, and I froze. An image from years ago flashed before me, sitting alone in a sterile room, the walls a sickening shade of white. The chill of the cold metal table beneath me as I lay there, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d done it to protect myself, to protect my future. But now, all that sacrifice felt useless. James, of all people, was ready to use it against me.

A wave of anger w