't give me

the ballroom floor, through a side door, into a

the kiss. My lips were still ti

, my voice shaking. "Why di

met him, he looked... out of control. His tuxedo jacket wa

oretti Holdings. My grandfather knew it, that's why he wrote the will the way he did. He knew Kessler

me. His grey

iful, innocent wife who knows nothing about thi

" I wh

rfect t

od ran

my world, everything I love becomes a weapon. I never loved anything, so I was untouchable. Now... now I have t

pped h

what?"

t. It wasn't romantic. It was... protective. Like

s beating as

r's diagnosis. "I'm so scared, Dante. This dress, this hotel, those roses... this isn't my life. Yes

d me t

kno

ow how to walk in these shoes. I don't know how to

he whispered into my hair. "You walked into a room of sha

ou kissed

issed me back,

away from the music and the cameras, it didn't feel like a co

knock on the

ing for the bride. He wants to congra

slid from my shoulders down to my w

" he

If I hide, they'll know I'm fake.

n at me. His

uncomfortable, you look at me. Just look at me, and I

, my thr

cked th

, smiling like a kind uncle. He was maybe 60, with silver hair, exp

ghtened you," he said, his voice smooth like honey. He h

drink champagne,"

ce. They lingered on my bare back, on the diamond necklace, on the ring. "You know, Elena, I knew D

eath

on my back

Dante's voice was so

nts, heart attacks... so many tragedies. I just hope you have better luck, my dear. For your mother's s

r. He knew the hospita

reat. A clear

shake. I coul

my temple. Right in front of K

sler's, his lips still against my skin. "Everything that is hers is mine. And eve

finally cracke

etti. Of course. Fa

d and wa

was gone, my

me like I weighed nothing and sat me on the leat

ds. "Elena, look at me. Breathe. He will not touch you. He

rs were rolling down my cheeks

y apartment and my noisy heater and my $400 bank account. I didn't sig

s touch was so gentle it made me cry harder. "I know, El

st mine. We were so close. H

e on paper. In my world, you are mine. And

0 dress in a private library at the Plaza, with the most dangerous man

Inside, for the first time, I

e I was al