Chapter 43 The First Secret

• Maddison's POV
• The door had spun shut moments ago, quieting Tyler's final, hateful shout, but the words hung in the air, echoing against the cold marble of the lobby. Question him about his scholarship! Question him how long he has been spying on you!! They were cruel things that had cut deep into the fragile truce she had so newly found. Jon walked along beside her, his voice a harsh whisper, but she hardly heard it.
• Everything outside of her range of sight had blurred to fuzziness at the edges, the only solid parts of reality were the red welts on her arm where Tyler had gripped her and the cold lasting picture of his final question. She allowed Jon to guide her to the small elevator, her limbs moving stiffly and mindlessly. The ride was a silent, ten-story ride through a personal hell. The glass walls of the elevator reflected a stranger; a wide-eyed, white-faced woman wearing a lovely diamond ring on her finger now burdening her. With every soft ding of a lost floor, Tyler's words echoed within her mind, a poisonous, musical beat.