created for them under the umbrella. Alya coul

storm, he scooped her into his arms. She was so light, a bundle of wet clothes and shivering

silent. The roar of the rain and the howl of the wind were gone, repla

. It was the first time she had fel

filling the space. He smelled of somethin

aid to the driver, his vo

as she could get. She didn't dare look at him. She stared at her own mu

y tailored suit jacket, he pulled out a handkerchief. It was stark white

elegant letter was embroi

face or touch her wound. H

y fingers brushed against his cool, steady ones for a fr

ng ache that pulsed with every heartbeat-the memory of bone cracking hard against asphalt. With a shaky bre

it had been through the storm with her, its wings tattered and damp. Beneath the butterfly, faint, peeling letters spelled out a word that had been washed a hundred times:

she couldn't hold back. The reality of the night

oing to be okay." He just reached up and silently dimmed the overhe

id, unwavering presence that didn't ask anything of her

lights slid across the sharp angles of his face, highlighting a strong jaw and a straight no

ncy room. The flashing red and blue lights of an ambulance pulsed through

, the black umbrella once again snapping ope

through a hospital full of sick people. With trembling hands, she tugged at the laces, loosening them just enough to kick them off. They

alked with her to the sliding glass doors of the ER, the umbr

thousand questions in her eyes,

le nod. "Go inside," he said, his vo

ring pain that made her vision blur at the edges, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through it. She ran-

, a solitary shield against the storm. Then, he turned and walked back to the car, disappea

of professional concern. "Honey, ar

y. Her gaze fell to her hand. She was still clutching the handkerchief

could see was a pair of dark, calm eyes. All she could feel

Years

lling. She gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed, her

l family's sprawling Long Island estate. The storm outside

t on top of the silk duvet. Sl

ftened and faded with time. In the corner, a single si