Chapter 189

Valerie

The bar, as expected, was packed.

The moment we stepped closer, the air hit me—pheromones layered over alcohol and cigarette smoke, all of it tangled together in a dizzying haze. Laughter, loud voices, clinking glasses. It was chaotic, alive, and overwhelming.

We were supposed to go to a restaurant.

That was what we told Darius. What I promised.

Yet something felt wrong the moment we turne