light, fractured into a thousand colors by the stained-glass windows, painted the white silk of my wedding dress in shades of blood red and dee

practiced for weeks. This wasn't a marriage; it was a sentence. I was trapped, a beautiful

. His touch was cold, impersonal, the grip of a man finalizing a business deal he found distasteful. I knew he despised me, believed the lies that

nd in the vast space. "Do you, Julian Thorne, tak

pped, devoid of e

ath, waiting. My mother sat in the front pew, her face pale, her eyes pleading with me not

ke Julian Thorne to be your

ate scream trapped in my throat. But what c

passing, erasing the cathedral, the guests, the cold grip of Julian's hand. A wave of nausea washed over me, a violent vertig

minating dust motes dancing in the air. The floral wallpaper, the one I' d convinced my mom to replace years ago

he design older. The date read October 12, 2014. Ten years. I had traveled back in time ten ye

n't a dream. It was real. I was free

series of reckless investments in a tech bubble that was about to burst. The Thorne family fortune, the one that seemed so unshakable, would collapse overnight, leaving them

ready? Don' t be late! Julian' s family is coming for

ister, would introduce me to the Thornes, setting in motion the chain of events that would lead to the scandal and my force

onger and healthier than I' d heard it in years, called

to steady my voice. "I' m f

ophia win. I wouldn't be a pawn in her game. I

od at the top of the stairs, looking down as my mother opened the door to revea

xpression bored as he scanned our modest home. His eyes flickered up and met mine. There was no recognition, jus

You' re here! Let me introduce you to my sister, El

ed the bottom, Julian' s gaze swept over me again, a little more i

g my hand. My voice was steady, bet

familiarity through me. "Julian Thorne," he said, his tone cool. He held my

"So, you' re the brilliant architect Sophia can' t stop talking about." There was a mocking edge

imber, exactly the image Sophia had carefully crafted for him. I pulled my hand a

ian' s parents, watched Chloe, his sister, look at me with open disdain. I listened to Mr. Thorne talk

prison only to find myself at the gates of another. But this time, I wasn't the naive girl who could be so easily mani