phin

eparture, the lock clicked again. She swept back into my gilded cage, this time trailed b

ured sharply, and the woman began spreading swatches of expensive silk and

ng air. She picked up a catalog and tossed it onto the mattress. "The invitations are already being expedited.

pages, my silence only

d contempt. "A ruined Marino girl, dragged from a frozen lake, still being given a stage this grand

idn't see a bride; she saw a PR campaign to scrub Julian's near-fatal bet

y water was real, but the fire igniting in my veins was hotter than eve

tantly, tape measure in hand. "

st the vanity, my breathing ragged, playing the broken victim

e switch

around Eleonora's pristine, tailored forearm. M

enly shocked face. I let out a breathless, jagged laugh that scraped against the wa

her arm away, but I dug my nails into her sleeve, l

ed into a manic, theatrical shriek. "We'll paint the silk with the blood of the rats who slaughtered my father! Don

muffled whimper, backin

d matriarch was gone, replaced by a woman sta

the bottom of the lake. But my blood... my blood remembers. My father died a king in the dirt! And your men? Your spineless men

she stumbled backward, her heel

ine horror. She wasn't looking at a political pawn anymore; she was looking at a bomb threatening to detonate in

the trembling designer, not daring to ta

heavy door slammed shut, and the l

My chest ached, and my legs finally gave out, dropping me to the hardwood floor. I

her family's flawless facade. But as the afternoon shadows began to stretch long and dark ac

ger. When Julian heard what