Chapter 66. Questions

Blake’s gaze fell upon the delicate, shimmering bracelet resting incongruously on the dark mahogany of his dresser. A foreign object in his meticulously curated bedroom, it seemed to pulse with a silent question. He picked it up between his thumb and forefinger, the cool metal sending a shiver of perplexity down his spine. “How did you get here?” he murmured, eyes narrowing.

“Find something interesting?” Layla’s voice cascaded into the room like a sudden breeze, her tone light but edged with something unplaceable.

Blake turned, the bracelet held aloft like evidence in a trial. “This,” he said, his voice steady yet laced with an undertone of accusation, “does not belong to me.”

Layla sauntered closer, her blue eyes flickering over the piece of jewelry as if seeing it for the first time. “And you think it belongs to me?” Her laugh was airy, but it didn’t quite reach those calculating eyes.

“Doesn’t it?” Blake pressed, stepping into her space, the air between th