A Necessary Cruelty

~DONOVAN~

The mansion feels different when we return. Colder. More formal. As if the lake house existed in another dimension—one where I could be someone else for a brief moment.

Beatrice chatters the entire drive back, but I barely hear her. My thoughts are consumed by the woman sitting silently in the back seat with her son, the taste of her still staying on my lips.

By the time we arrive, I've