“Get out of my way,” I said.

His hand closed around my forearm. Not tightly enough to leave the kind of mark people gasp at in films. Just enough to stop me. Enough to press my bracelet painfully into my skin.

Enough to make Sabina lift her head and whimper.

The whole house seemed to contract around that sound.

I looked down at his hand. Then I looked back at him. He released me slowly, but he stayed in front of the door, his voice low and cutting.

“You walk out that door tonight and you don’t walk back in as if nothing happened. This is our home, Vivian. Our roof. Our life. You do not embarrass my mother in front of our guests and expect there to be no consequences.”