to put the necklace back crushed in on her and tears pricked
her eyes. She let them fall. Why bother stopping them?
Giana looked like she was going to get up and offer solace
in the form of touch, and Coralyn just couldn’t bear being
held, even if she wanted it. She was so desperate to have
someone tell her that everything was going to be fine that
she’d accept it even from Giana at the moment.
That wouldn’t do. She was giving up on her plans to hurt
her. It was now time to plan on how to extract herself from the
situation, and physical touch was not on the table. This wasn’t
a real marriage or a real relationship. Just because both times
Giana kissed her it had been earth shattering in very different
ways, didn’t mean anything.
Biology was responsible for the response. It had been a long
time since Coralyn felt anything even remotely close to
&nb
sp; womanly. Her life had been hard work, school, and endless
worry for so long that she’d forgotten what it was like to even
be human. Desire was a surprise, but then, she was scrambled
and fried and distraught.
“Thanks.” She wiped at her eyes. “I’ll be down in a few
minutes.”
Luckily for her, the entrance where she’d left her coat was
near the ornate staircase. She snatched the necklace out,
holding it folded up in her hand. She expected it to be cold, but
it wasn’t.
Coralyn raced up the stairs, into Giana’s bedroom, and
threw open the closet door. She very carefully set the necklace
back in the box where she’d found it and shut the lid. She felt
like she was closing a part of herself away. An entire chapter