"Just in case a certain someone forgets," he'd said with a grin, "I picked the day we got together."
That date was also my birthday. There was no way I'd gotten it wrong.
Yet the alarm kept blaring, each beep a slap across my face.
I was still standing there, frozen, when the door swung open from inside.
Clarissa stood in the doorway wearing my silk nightgown. She yawned, slow and lazy, as if she'd just rolled out of bed.
Then she swept her hair to one side, deliberately baring a neck mottled with hickeys. Her eyes glittered with satisfaction she didn't bother to hide.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie. Hubert brought me home last night, and I threw a little fit, so he changed the code." She tilted her head, lips curling. "Guess he forgot to tell you."
There wasn't a shred of guilt on Clarissa's face. If anything, she looked pleased with herself, watching me like she was waiting for me to lose it.
But I just stared at her, expressionless. I didn't say a word.
Clarissa rolled her eyes, bored by my lack of reaction, and stepped aside to let me through. A nasty smile curled at the corner of her lips. "Watch your step, sis. Wouldn't want you to throw out your back."