Page 38 of Their Arrangement

Like someone had tried to build a woman out of clearance racks and desperation.

Wolfe’s voice still echoed in my mind.

You’re not meant to be seen.

I swallowed.

Hard.

That one sentence had stripped more off me than if he’d reached beneath my skirt and dragged his fingers across my skin. It wasn’t just cruel.

It was accurate.

I wasn’t like the women he let into his space. I wasn’t effortless. I wasn’t polished.

But still?—

He’d looked.

I exhaled shakily and reached into my bag.

My fingers found it instantly.

The gold casing.

Still cold.

Still heavy.

Obedience.

I pulled it out, slow.

The lipstick shimmered under the too-bright bathroom lights. The word carved into the side glinted like a threat. Or a promise.

I turned the cap.

Twisted the stick.

The color looked darker than before. Richer. Deeper. Like it had absorbed every humiliation I’d endured since stepping into this building.

I raised it to my lips.

Paused.

Just for a second.

One breath.

Then I applied it—slowly. Carefully. With precision I didn’t know I still had.

Bottom lip. Then top.

No smudge this time.

No tremble.

The red bloomed on my mouth like a wound. Like power. It didn’t make me feel strong. Didn’t make me feel sexy. But it made me feel something I hadn’t felt in days.