Amelia POV

Her fingers were tight around my throat.

And with each second, the grip was tightening.

The room blurred at the edges as my back slammed into the wall, the impact knocking the breath clean out of my lungs.

I clawed at her wrists, my nails scraping her skin, but Ariel didn’t flinch.

Her face was twisted with rage and an ugly mix of fear and desperation too.

“Say it,” she hissed, breath hot against my face. “Say you planted it. Say you’re lying to her.”

My ...