MARION

The door clicked shut behind me, but her scent, that sweet mix of strawberry and something that was just her, clung to me like a damn ghost.

I exhaled hard, dragging a hand through my hair as I made my way out of her bakery. Every step felt heavier than the last, the echo of her voice replaying in my head.

“No woman should be able to breathe the same air as my man.”

She meant every word, and that’s what gutted me. Demetria wasn’t being dramatic. She was being her. Fierce. ...