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
And then… the tears stopped. Like I’d run dry. I don’t remember getting up. I just remember the ache. The slow shuffle to the bathroom. The dull way my fingers turned the shower handle. Hot water hit my skin, but it didn’t soothe me. It didn’t cleanse anything. I stood there for so long my toes
ESSENCE Lucian’s hands covered my eyes as he slowly guided me into our bedroom. “Careful,” he whispered behind me, his warm breath tickling my neck. The scent of roses hit me first. Then, soft petals brushed my face, falling like confetti from the ceiling. I laughed, catching a few in my hands
LUCIAN I didn’t care that my shirt was soaked in her tears. I didn’t care that my arms ached from holding her so tightly. All I cared about was keeping Essence close, because something inside me screamed that if I let go, I might not be able to piece her back together again. Sky’s voice echoed s
ESSENCE I didn’t understand why it hurt. One minute, Lucian was standing, staring at me like I was his entire world, and the next, his body slumped to the floor. Just like that. As though the weight of everything finally crushed him. The panic in everyone’s eyes made my heart twist. I stood







