Chapter 114

Claire's POV The roses arrived three days after I'd stopped answering Theo's calls, their crimson petals a mockery of beauty in the sterile perfection of my hiding place. Twenty-four long-stemmed flowers arranged with professional precision, their fragrance filling the apartment's entryway with a cloying sweetness that made my stomach turn. For a moment, my heart leaped with desperate hope—perhaps Theo had found a way to reach me despite the media circus, perhaps this was his attempt to bridge the chasm that had opened between us. But the small white card tucked between the blooms bore a different name entirely. *I was wrong. Forgive me. - Adrian* I stared at the elegant script, my hands trembling as the implications crashed over me like ice water. Adrian. After months of silence, after choosing Nicole over me, after the humiliation and heartbreak he'd put me through, he was reaching out now—when I was at my lowest, most vulnerable point. The timing felt calculated, predatory, as if he