Chapter 38

Julian still had a French novel in his hands, letters she knew, but throw them together and they may as well be Martian to Anna. She couldn't figure out for the life of her how he was actually reading it. Bored out of her mind, she started fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist again. It was a parting gift from Grace, pushed into her hands despite all her polite refusals. The bracelet was heavy, ornate—definitely the luxurious kind. She hadn't really wanted it, but still, here it was, locked on her wrist. Anna had originally intended to accept it just to be nice, then take it off and give it back through Julian later. Only now did she realize—it was way easier to put on than to take off! Somehow, it was a perfect fit for her wrist, with a tiny latch that clicked shut, probably not even made to come off easily. She had struggled with it for ages, failed miserably, and just ended up irritating her skin until it turned red. With no better option, she poked the man next to her. "Hey, Juli