I'd been gone from the Reynard for three weeks, and it had easily been the most miserable time of my entire life. I'd looked for a new job, but all I could find was work as a driver for UberEats. Every afternoon from 12-8, I got in my car and drove around Boston delivering Cheesecake Factory and Taco Bell to people with actual careers. The money wasn't atrocious, but it wasn't enough to get my own apartment yet, either. So, after driving around for eight hours, I was forced to go home and lay eyes on the people who had betrayed me. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to forgive my parents for their part in giving the Reynard to Raven, and I was starting to think they didn't even care.

After delivering my last meal, I stopped at Starbucks for a white chocolate mocha. When I walked through the door, my heart stopped.

There was a man at the counter—tall, dark hair, lean but muscular build, wearing the same gray half zip pullover that Soren loved. I moved toward him, but when he turned around, his eyes were brown and his face not nearly as handsome as Soren's. I swallowed and averted my gaze, staring at the ground until the guy passed.

I got my coffee and returned to my car, my face turned down against the frigid wind. I plopped in the driver's seat and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. I wanted nothing more than to just hear Soren's voice, just to know that he was all right. I don't know why I hadn't thought to get him a cellphone or at least exchange email addresses. I'd called a week ago and asked Larry if he'd seen him, but he said both twins had been quiet since I left.

Shaking my head, I lifted my eyes to the dusky sky. What was stopping me from going to visit? My pride? Scoffing, I threw my car into reverse and took off for the freeway.

Just two hours stood between me and Soren, my pride be damned. I was going to see him tonight.

The drive felt like ten hours instead of two, and when I finally pulled into the parking lot at the Reynard, I literally sighed with relief.

"Thank God," I murmured, getting out of the car and stretching my arms over my head. I looked down at my clothes and wished I'd changed before coming; suddenly my holey skinny jeans and v-neck black sweater seemed lacking.

I brushed the lint off my torso and walked toward the hotel.

Archer strolled down the front stairs before I made it to the door. His hands in his pockets and head bowed. I stiffened at the sight of him; this was not the cocky asshole I was used to seeing. Something was off. He met me halfway to the front porch and raised his plum gaze to mine.

"I need you to come this way with me, please," he said, his voice quiet and monotone.

My brows furrowed and I shook my head. "Archer, what's going on? Where's Soren?"

"Soren is all right, but you can't go inside."

I cocked my head to the side and curled my lip. "What? What are you talking about? I just drove here from Boston; you can bet your ass I'm going in."

He released a slow, long breath and combed his fingers through his hair, looking at anything but me. His demeanor was really freaking me out. I shoved past him and clipped him with my shoulder, but I didn't make it far. His fingers curled around my wrist, holding me in place.

"Raven has issued a No Trespassing order against you. If you step inside, she will see you and call the police. None of the employees or myself want to see you dragged out like that."

My heart stilled in my chest and my jaw dropped. "Excuse me? She did what? Why in the hell would she do that to me?"

"You already know why, Gem. She's conniving and extremely jealous of you. Your cousin took the opportunity to ban you from the hotel the day after you left."

My face heated and I clenched my jaw so hard I could hear my teeth grinding. "How is it possible I didn't know about this? It's been three weeks since I left!"

Archer pulled a hand out of his pocket, revealing a sealed envelope with a red "Return to Sender" stamp on the front. "She sent it to the wrong address on purpose."

My hand trembled as I took the letter from him. Of all the cruel things Raven could do to me, she permanently took the place I love most from me.

There was no limit to the things she would do to hurt me.

A glutton for punishment, I opened the letter and read the formal letter issued by the City of Spelling. I crumbled it in my hand, squeezing it with every ounce of frustration coursing through my body. I hated her.

"I'm sorry. I tried to tell her this was unnecessary, but she wouldn't listen. I'm starting to wonder if she's actually unhinged. She stays up all night; it seems like she never stops working, and she's getting thinner and thinner. If I gave a shit, I'd be worried about her. Before she sent that no-trespassing order, she kept going on about how you didn't deserve to step foot inside after the mess you made for her to clean up. Everyone knows it's bullshit, Gem."

Ever since Thanksgiving, Archer and I hadn't had a kind word to say to one another; one had been as guilty as the other of throwing petty insults and delivering deliberately hurtful jabs. But here he was delivering this devastating news—with sorrow and compassion instead of ridicule and hatred.

And after spending the last three weeks with my parents, two people who had no compassion or understanding to spare for their own daughter during her darkest days, Archer's small gesture of kindness was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

"Fuck her," I growled, shoving the no-trespassing order into my purse and crossing my arms over my chest, my entire body quaking with fury. "What did Soren say? Is he angry? Does—" My voice cracked, but I pressed on. "Does he miss me?"

"He's devastated—sleeps all day, hardly eats, and he won't talk to me. And rightfully so. I wouldn't want to broach the topic with him if he acted the way I did about someone I cared about. But he doesn't need to say it for me to know that he misses you."

The tears that had brimmed my eyes now fell freely down my cheeks. To think of Soren so miserable made my chest ache. "This isn't fair," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair and gripping it at the roots. I sniffled, wiping the tears from my face before saying, "Can I see him? Please? There has to be some way."

"You can't go inside. The staff is under strict orders to detain you on sight. Raven even has the front desk open all night now. And even if I could roll him out of bed, I couldn't let him come down and say goodbye to you. It would just break him all over again. We will figure something out; I just need time to find a work-around. She has to go on vacation sometime, right?"

Raven on a vacation. It was a foreign concept. But I just nodded. "You're right. I don't want to hurt him.  But please, tell Soren I tried to come see him. I don't want him to think I don't care about him anymore."

"He knows. I'm sure half of his anguish is knowing how badly this hurts you. But I will tell him, I promise."

Unable to find any other words to say I nod at my feet and head for my car.

"Gemma?" I look over my shoulder to find Archer shifting side to side. "I'm sorry about everything I did to you...the things I said. I wish I was a better man, but my circumstance has made me single-minded and I don't think very far beyond that. It's a shit excuse but..."

I shook my head and stepped back toward him. "I forgive you, Archer. You coming out here and talking to me like this just earned you back some respect. And you're not a bad man. You and Soren both have been through a lot in your lives, and we're all allowed a few fuck-ups. Trust me; I have quite a list of my own."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

With nothing more to say and a burning desire to drown in my sorrows alone, I returned to my car. I held it together for a moment, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. As my rage grew within me, my body trembled, and tears streamed down my face. It all became so much that I punched my horn and screamed.

Fuck Raven! She took every single thing I love, leaving me with nothing but the hate I feel for her.