swered almost immedi

hought, I made my decision. Painful as it was, I was finally willing to marry R

engagement earlier . How did y

. I'm not marrying you because I want to. I'm d

hat's

ered" I want reven

oment, I thought he might say no, that he mig

quietly. "If that's what

to agree so easily to my plan, but it didn't m

time. I marched down the hall to my

despite being the Johnsons' daughter. But not anymore. It was time to reveal my tr

when my mother called for m

said "I have m

esks, surprised. My mother stood

Richard," I

ed in shock. "A

way. I want to be recognized as your daughter, to be part of t

, and she crossed the roo

sing my cheek. "This is wonderf

the engagement party for two day

e with praise and excitement. Inside, though, all I could think about was Max. How he woul

contacts. I called the best stylists, the best makeup artists, and demanded a

make him regret every single mo

d myself experiencing again, not after Max. But as I sat in the velvet chair, surro

was being painted expertly. I glanced at the mirror in front of me, but the woman staring ba

" a voice sai

r, standing with a wide smile. "You

you," I

gn in reference to me, but I

at me in the mirror. "Tonight is your night, Tamara. Smile in the spotlig

engagement party. It was my introduction to society, my d

for paparazzi to be present. Expect your photo

at the thought. I

f people talking about me, seeing me as something other tha

ders before stepping back. "I'll leave you t

e carefully unzipped it, revealing the dress we had chosen for tonight-a lavish floor-length gown

ed carefully as she adjusted the fabric around my frame. When I finally

smooth silk of the dress, feeling the luxury of it. My hair was styled to perfection. My mak

e my way out of the room, my heels clicking against

to shift. All eyes were on me. The room was filled with

experienced before. Heads turned. People smiled and nodded, their voices hushed as I passed b

was what power felt like. This was w

ng faded as so

ch

ss. All I could see was him. All I could feel was the pull between us, something so intense that it stole my breath away. He stood tall in a perfe

my plan, nothing more. But in that moment, as he started to walk toward me, I couldn't think straight. My heart rac

at me, his eyes raking over me as if he was seeing me for the first time. Bein

softly "You look

. My eyes lingered on the sharp cut of his jaw, the way the light reflected in his blue eyes. I could feel the tension be

his wasn't love.

gh the ballroom, drawing everyone's attention. I turned to see my fath

mmanding the attention of the room, "thank you all for

wined fingers, and for a moment, it felt...right. We were supposed

y great pleasure to introduce my daughter, Tamara Johnson, as the fia

was pounding too loudly in my chest, my mind spinning from the intensi

d together. People smiled at me, women in the audience clapped a litt

wd, my breath caught in my thr

a

ur eyes met, and for a moment, everything else disappeared. He looked at m

t, I felt a wave

actly what

e begins fo