"Please forgive my mistake, Reed!" Selene sobbed as she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around his torso the instant the heavy wooden doors of the private VIP lounge swung shut behind them.The words tumbled out of her mouth like a breathlessly rehearsed script, her voice trembling with practiced, fragile vulnerability. She pressed the side of her face firmly against the smooth fabric of his tuxedo chest, weeping with the exact same theatrical cadence she had perfected over years of emotional manipulation whenever she found herself in deep trouble or needed his unyielding support to fix her messes. The tears flowed effortlessly, glistening on her cheeks in the dim ambient lighting of the secluded lounge.Even now, despite everything that had transpired between them, Reed possessed a strange, subconscious hold over her mind. For years, he had made her feel as though so long as he was by her side, she never had to worry about a single problem in the world because he would han