hie Maya gave me. It was

illed with a new, fake resolve. "I haven't been taking this seriously

antly. This was the Chloe he wan

ching over to squeeze my shoul

approval felt slimy, a reward for good behavior. Before his lips cou

swatting Liam' s chest. "Let the girl b

A clear warning. He was her prize, not mine. I saw it so clearly now. The j

ou sure you can handle it, Chloe? You've tried before and, well..." She

rm again, now defending his own judgment

t rack. I picked up a ten-pound dumbbell, my arm straining slightly

said, my voice eve

o, three. My form was clumsy, my breathing heavy. I made sure they could

, her eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of calculation beh

rdio every morning. Weight training three times a week. And I'm hiring

her voice dripping with false enthusiasm. "I'll

r to the floor as if in exhaustion. I looked up at

destroy them. They thought they were setting the rules for my transformat

nty that they were in control-it would be their