etched her drinks, laughed at her jokes, and kept a protective hand on the small of her

t with her. The warmth, the tenderness, the public displays of devotion-all of it was reserved for Camille. K

around her

so perfec

her. She's been

ild Hall girl. He must be so relieved t

downed her drink, the burn of the alcohol a

h twist!" he boomed. Questions would appear on a large screen, and a chose

n was simple: "Be

Beach." A photo of a smiling Camille

a soft smile touching his lips. "We used

he mountains. She'd told him that once, on a rare night when they had talked abou

dogs, because Camille had a golden retriever. Every choice, every answer, was a testament to his

Elliot. For the final round. You have to choose. If you

red on the scree

smiling sweetly, the

did shot from a press event, he

her breath, a tiny, stupid flicker of hope igniting in the ruins of her heart. Maybe, just maybe, in this one mom

e, his voice cl

ose Ca

er been. The room erupted in applause. It was the perfect, romant

walked away. She fled to the restroom, the sound of the party fading behind her. She splashe

em see her break. She would walk back into that party, head hel

ocked her path. It was one of the drunk men from th

s all alone now," he sn

Kennedy said, her voi

ached for her. "I

t. For a second, she saw a flash of concern on his face. He started

ened cry came from the pa

s Cam

cornered by a predator, to the doorway where Camille's

into the party, abandoni

nned. "Looks like your knig

ll coalesced into a white-hot rage. She didn't scream. She didn't cry. She reached back to the small ba

nced on him, the jagged edge of the bottle held

where she' d gripped the broken glass. The physical pain

was walking towards her, with Camille clin

!" Camille cried, her voice dripping

lliot. "Did you save her?" she asked, her

He knew Camille had faked her distress. And he had stil

e yourself. It wasn' t a compliment. It was an excuse. An excuse to aban

said, a strange calm set

leeding hand, then back

ching around the corner, its tires squealing on the pavement. It was moving too fast, out of contro

he saw Elliot' s eyes widen

move tow

amille, shielding her with his

left complet

g explosion of pain and shatter