~ ZARA ~
I blinked and sat up. It took a second to get my bearings. My dress was all wrinkled up and twisted around my body. Ash leaned over me on the bed, his jaw set and eyes a mingling of concern and irritation.
"I'm… thank you," I said, rubbing my eyes and trying to breathe. My chest still felt tight. My head was foggy.
"Zara, I'm not sure this is a good idea—"
"I have to talk to her. And I need to talk to her alone," I said quickly, dropping my hands from my face to meet his piercing blue gaze.
"But—"
"Sometimes girls just need other girls for a while, Ash. Please. Send her in and… you and Ernst stay in the sitting room."
His chest expanded and he watched me like he was thinking about arguing, but then he straightened and prowled across the room and out the door. There was a murmur of his deep voice, then the door opened again and Emory walked in looking bright and energetic and… everything that I wasn't.
My stomach sank.
