Chapter 59 The Trap Tightens

Claire blinked hard, snapping herself out of the vivid spiral of imagination that had tangled her thoughts. “No,” she whispered to herself, breath trembling. “I can’t play it like that. I can’t let him know I and Chris plan this all along. It can't happen like that.” Her heart pounded with urgency as she straightened, pushing the vision aside like smoke. He can’t know the truth. Not yet. This everything had to remain a pretense. Ethan had to believe every moment was real, that he had broken her. That was the game hers and Chris’s. And if she played it right, Ethan would never see the betrayal coming. Ethan stood motionless, staring at Claire as she pulled the sheets tighter around her trembling form. Her voice cracked as she blinked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks in thick, exaggerated waves.