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“Yes, but we still need to eat,” she says.

“Okay, let’s do brunch.”

“Great. I’ll send you the location. We’ll meet there.”

She looks away from the screen for a second. The light shifts on her face. I notice something about her that I didn’t before. There are tear tracks on her cheeks. She didn’t cry while speaking with me, which means she must have been crying earlier.

“Okay, I have to go,” she says. “They’re having a bachelor party here tonight, so it’s busier than usual for a Wednesday.”

“Gigi, wait,” I say. “Is everything okay?”

A shadow passes over her face. There’s a flicker of torment in her eyes that I would have missed if I wasn’t watching closely.

“Everything’s great,” she says. “Why do you ask?”

I know she can’t stay on the phone long, so I let it go—for now.

“Just checking up on you, that’s all,” I say. “I love you. And tell the twins I said hi.”

She gives me a blinding smile.

“I love you, too.”

“Also, you look hot as a blonde,” I say.

“Why, thank you,” she says, touching her wig. “I’m trying something new tonight.”

After we hang up, the weight over my chest no longer feels so heavy. I would have spent the entire night wallowing in self-pity if I hadn't called her. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I’ve done that too many nights in a row. Talking to my friends always helps me get out of my own head.

I stare up at the ceiling.

Things did not turn out the way I’d hoped with Klaus, but I’m glad that I can always count on the girls.

I don’t have to deal with things on my own anymore.

The silence of the night is broken by a pounding on the door. It’s so loud that I nearly jump out of my skin.

Klaus’s laptop pings with a notification, its black screen coming to life on the bedside table. He left in a rush, so he must have forgotten to lock his screen.

I reach for the laptop and click on the notification.

It’s a live camera feed, showing the corridor right outside. My heart stops beating when I see the person standing outside Klaus’s door.

It’s a slender girl with long black hair, dressed in a flowing white wedding gown. A lace veil covers her face, hiding her features from the camera.

I’ve never seen her before in my life, but I feel like I know her from somewhere.

Goosebumps rise on my skin.

I try to zoom in on her face, but I must press the wrong button because the camera feed of the corridor disappears. It’s replaced by a view of my bedroom.

It can’t be.

But the truth is right in front of my eyes. This is live footage of my bedroom. Klaus set up cameras in my bedroom.

That man is a walking red flag. He’s a cold-hearted, ruthless monster. I just saw what I wanted to see in him. But for the first time, I’m starting to see him for who he is.

The pounding on my door intensifies. A chill travels down my spine.