Nicole didn't stop running until she reached the safety of her white SUV in the faculty parking lot. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, and her breath came in ragged gasps.
She looked in the rearview mirror. Her face was flushed, her eyes wide with a mix of terror and a longing she had tried to bury for two years. But then she looked down. A small, damp circle had formed on the silk of her cream blouse.
"Damn it," she hissed, grabbing a spare cardigan from the backseat and throwing it over her shoulders.
She pulled out her phone. A photo of Aria sat on her lock screen—fat cheeks, dark eyes, and a stubborn chin that was a carbon copy of Kenneth's.
"I can't let him see her," she whispered to the empty car. "If he sees her, he'll know. And if he knows, my father will destroy everything he's worked for."
She put the car in gear and sped away, unaware that Kenneth was still standing on the sidewalk, watching her car disappear with a look of grim determination.