You hadn’t heard from Rafe in almost twenty four hours. You’d lain awake most of last night, waiting for him to slip into your bed like he did every night. But his side of the bed had remained empty. Your calls and texts had all gone unanswered. It was a strange departure from the man who had claimed you as his, who’d sworn that he would never get enough of you.

Standing at the party tonight, half listening as Sofia was talking about her day at work, you kept checking the door to see if he had shown up. You’d made plans earlier in the week to meet up there, and you were hoping last night was just an anomaly. That he’d show up tonight with the perfect explanation for his absence, and that everything would be back to normal.

Finally. You plastered a smile that you weren’t quite feeling as Rafe made his way over to you. He looked the same, even if his eyes didn’t quite meet yours. Dread started to settle in your stomach, and you had to remind yourself that he loved you, that there could be any one of a million reasons for the way he was acting.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you against his chest, and you breathed in his familiar scent, letting it comfort you. See, you told yourself, it’s fine. Sofia stiffened beside you, and you thought that was odd, but you quickly brushed it aside.

“Missed you last night, Princess” Rafe says in your ear, his grip on you tightening enough that you thought you might have a bruise there in the morning.

“Not what you were saying last night” Sofia mutters, so quiet you almost don’t hear her. But then you see the way Rafe’s eyes change. He almost looks panicked. And you remember how Sofia hadn’t been answering her phone last night either.

“What is she talking about?” You look up at Rafe, your eyes are almost pleading. Begging for him to tell you what you think isn’t true. Because there’s no way it could be. The betrayal is just too big.

“I don’t know. She’s just…” he trails off, pulling you closer to him, but still not meeting your gaze. For her part, Sofia looks guilty. Like she knows she shouldn’t have let anything slip. Like the two of them have a secret.

“She’s joking around” he finally settles on. And you know he’s keeping something from you, that his pathetic excuse is so far from the truth it’s almost laughable.