Chapter 71 The Ringmaster's Obsession Ch10

• She didn’t want the paint. But the girl smeared rouge across her lips anyway. Red. The color of blood. Of bruises. Of betrayal.
• The crowd roared outside the tent. Hungry. Expectant. A thousand strangers who didn’t care that her world had just crumbled. That the man who claimed her body had stolen her life.
• "You're on in five," a voice snapped. One of the handlers. Not even meeting her eyes.