A BRU

transforming into a deep, guttural roar that made the very windows of Dixon Tower hum. The lights in the lobby flickered, mo

elicopters approaching, their rotors beating the air into submission. Outside, the sky, already d

eir tires spitting gravel. The doors burst open, and a phalanx of heavily armed men, dressed in dark tactical gear,

raw power, he moved with a controlled ferocity. His silver hair was slicked back, his jaw set, and his e

y, his presence instantly dominating the space. Kassandra, who had been trying to regain some semblance

his face, though it looked strained. He was flanked by his own security, but they seemed insignificant next to my grandfather

rate to project an image of normalcy. "I'm so sorry, the press conference ran long. But we're here now, finally! Ready to celebrate our

of this state, and the woman who will stand by my side as we build a brighter tomorrow!" He squeezed her hand, then turned, his gaze sweeping over the astonished faces in the

ork executives and publicists clapped politely, while Kassandra's en

inging from Kassandra's nails. My gaze fell on the scattered, trampled pages of my mother' s journal. With trembling

osh," she giggled, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at me. "It's your little strategist, A

face, replaced by a look of utter shock. His arm, which had been wrapped around Kassandra, dropped to his side.

e. He looked from my disheveled appearance, my torn dress, my bleeding cheek, to the grim faces

y any attention to her, darling. She's just... upset. She has a pr

nd. My eyes met Josh's, and the warmth, the love, the belief that had sustain

devoid of any emotion. "I believe I was on my

the campaign. A necessary alliance." He took a hesitant step towards me, then stopped, his eyes da

nvolve a secret, clingy ex-girlfriend who thinks she's more than she is." She sneered at me. "Honestly, Aurora, you'r

k. His eyes widened, a flicker of genuine alarm cr

tattered remnants of my mother's journal. "These are the consequences of your 'necessary alliance.' Your fiancée, the future

t the torn pages, then at Kassandra, who

he stammered, trying to find words, trying to n

lence, by your betrayal, by your utter contempt for me, condoned it. You chose her. You chose this. Therefo

med in, flanked by two more heavily armed men. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with a hawkish gaze that inst

teous fury. He saw my torn dress, my bleeding cheek, the fragments of the journal i

topped a few feet from Josh, his towering presence dwarfing the congress

ked, his voice chillingly

faint. My father' s gaze, colder than any winte

sing, filling the silent lobby with its menace, "what do you

ing, dropped