Gerald left Ariana with a pair of short workout shorts in her hands. After he closed the walk-in closet door, only then did Ariana realize what they had just done in there. She slumped down weakly onto the long chair in the room, gripping Gerald's shorts tightly.

Oh God, what had they just done? No. Ariana shook her head vigorously. It wasn't what 'they' did. It was what 'she,' she herself, had done. Why had she allowed herself to be treated like that by Gerald?

Ariana covered her face with the ...