LOGINShe was teary by the end, which made me feel like I'd absolutely nailed it. "I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiant said. "You may kiss your bride." I pulled Paige into my arms and kissed her while everyone cheered. At the reception, Danny gave his best man speech with way too mu
ASHER I'd performed in front of millions of people, won three acting awards, and done my own stunts in a movie where I nearly died twice. But standing in this room waiting to get married, I was more terrified than I'd ever been in my entire life. Ten dates. That's what I'd told Paige we neede
When my parents came back from their conference, Damon told me he wanted our families to know about our relationship officially. I was nervous, but I agreed. The next evening, everyone gathered in the main living room. My parents, Aunt Sky and her husband, Victor, Ella, Asher and his new girlf
My heart started racing. "Really? You can do that?" "If you have the recording, yes. If not, I can go to Frank and get it from him." "I have it," I said quickly. "I made Frank send it to me. I thought if my dad ever found out and tried to go after Frank's mother, I could use the recording to thr
I'd missed this so much. Missed him so much. "I missed you," he whispered between kisses. "God, I missed you so much. It was driving me crazy." "I missed you too," I breathed. "So much." He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bed. We fell onto the ma
PRINCESS After standing there for a while watching Damon walk away, I couldn't let him just leave. Not after everything. Not after searching for him all day in a wedding dress like some kind of romantic comedy protagonist who'd lost her mind. I followed him into the house and went straight
ESSENCE I could tell Lucian was smiling, but it wasn’t the kind of smile that reached his eyes. He was doing it for me—for the boys, maybe even for himself. That stiff, polite stretch of his lips felt like a mask, and I didn't like seeing him wear it. "Come on," he said gently. "I know you're su
ESSENCE I didn’t expect the relief to hit that hard. When Lucian told me Asher wasn’t leaving anymore, I swear something inside me unclenched. Like my lungs had been wrapped in tight rubber bands, and someone finally snipped them off. I hadn’t even realized how heavy the guilt was sitting on my
I felt my stomach turn. Coward. He walked away and got into his car. And I sat there too... furious and disappointed. I had been seconds away from owning him. But he held back. Of all the times to grow a conscience... Pathetic. Still, I wasn’t done. I waited. He parked his car at the
Then, like a flicker in the dark, an idea came. A twisted, desperate whisper in my head. I stood there, frozen for a second, considering it, then thinking it through again and again until it no longer felt insane—it felt necessary. This time, I’d be careful. No mistakes. No loose ends. What happen







