in the air, delibe

ng within her. Fury, humiliation, and then, s

he had spent molding herself into the perfect fiancée, quiet and agreeable, o

protect? What dignity

tter despair, surged through her. If her wo

or the first time, the fear in her green eyes was

ft exhale, but it landed with the f

allenge, lowered slightly. He hadn't expected this. H

ipped, revealing the curve of her shoulder. She slid off the bed

f him, so close she could feel

ers in his hair, and pulled his

of rebellion against Garrison, against her family, against the world that had

d second, Damian rem

ighed nothing. What had begun as her rebellion became something else entirely-a shared unraveling

curtains blocked out the morning light, plu

lence-a language of touch and breath and surrender that left no trace bu

body hummed with a strange, lingering exhaustion, a weight she couldn't quite n

is back to her, one elbow on his knee, a cigarette burning forgot

tretched, dense and heavy, filled wi

o one of New York's most exclusive private clinics

r face, framed by blonde hair, was artfully pale, with a faint, feverish blush on her

vate, symbolic wedding, just fo

pictures she'd have her nurse take would be real enough. Real enough t

and weak as she rested her head on his shoulder.

his mind was elsewhere. He felt a prickle of unease. He hadn't heard from Asha. Not a word. He told himself s

g ceremony, he walked Elise

with unshed tears. She reached up, her fingers

lting up toward his. "We're husband a

back, creating a space between them. "You need to rest,

felt for Elise was a complicated mix of pity and oblig

e's face before she could mask it w

nd irritation washed over him. He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over Asha's name. H

ssenger seat and started the engine, the roar

e, Asha slept, finally succumbing t

stripped of its defiance, looking young and heartbreakingly vulnerable. He had he

oing nothing to soothe him. He pulled out his

ovements for the past 48 hours. Everything.

He would show her exactly what