#Chapter 173

Violet’s POV Helene and I toasted – her with the amber liquor I had poured for her and me with tea. She stared me down with suspicion when I made up a queasy stomach from leftover performance anxiety after my speech as a reason for not drinking alcohol with her, but she didn’t say anything. We leaned against the counter in my kitchen as we sipped our respective drinks. I had offered the sitting room, but Helene had waved me off as if the formality of the sitting room were an afront to our friendship. It made my heart swell. Everyone needs a friend who cares about your company more than where you are. “It’s been too long since we’ve spent time together,” Helene said into a sip of her drink. I nodded in agreement. “When’s the last time we saw each other – the Annual Moon Goddess Ball?” I remembered the knowing look in her and her husband’s eyes when they greeted me there and the way Theo had admitted to having told them at least some of our secrets. I had forgotten about t