Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Time stopped.

Sienna stared at the hand Landon held out to her. Those fingers. She knew those fingers. Had felt them trace patterns on her skin, cup her face, tangle in her hair while he whispered her name in the dark.

Now they waited for a polite handshake.

Her chest felt tight. Like someone had wrapped chains around her ribs and was pulling. The ballroom was full of people but all she could see was him.

"Sienna?" Noah's voice came from somewhere far away. "You okay? You look..."

Pale. She knew she looked pale. She could feel the color draining from her face.

She forced her hand to move. Reached out. Let her fingers touch his.

Lightning shot up her arm.

The same spark. The same fire. He felt it too. His jaw tightened, something flashed in his dark eyes before his face went blank.

"Nice to meet you," he said. His voice was steady. Controlled. Like they were strangers at a business meeting.

Like he had never kissed her until she could not breathe.

Like that night meant nothing.

"You too," she managed to whisper. The words felt like glass in her throat.

Their hands dropped. The moment broke. But her whole body was shaking now. Tiny tremors that started in her fingertips and spread outward.

"Landon's a photographer," Noah said, his arm sliding around her waist. "Travels all over the world. Must be exciting."

"It has its moments," Landon replied. He was looking at Noah now. Not at her. Like she had already been dismissed.

The words hit her like a slap.

"What kind of photography?" she heard herself ask. Her voice sounded strange. High and thin.

"Street photography mostly. Real people living real lives." He shrugged. "Nothing fancy. Nothing that would interest someone like you."

Someone like you. The words were polite but they cut deep. Someone rich. Someone privileged. Someone living in a world of appearances.

Someone not worth his time.

She wanted to scream. Wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he admitted he remembered. Until he admitted that night had mattered.

Instead she smiled. The same empty smile she'd been wearing her whole life.

"That sounds fascinating," she lied.

More people came over to welcome Landon home. He handled them all with the same polite coldness he'd shown her.

She watched him slip through the crowd like a shark forced into a tux. Every handshake a calculated strike. He knew exactly what to say. Knew exactly how to play the game.

But she could see the anger underneath. The way his hands clenched when he thought no one was looking.

He hated this. All of it.

He hated her too. That much was clear.

The band started playing again. Couples moved onto the dance floor. Noah took her hand.

"Shall we?" he asked.

She let him lead her onto the floor. Let him spin her around while cameras flashed and people applauded. The perfect couple celebrating their perfect engagement.

But over Noah's shoulder, Landon watched them dance. His face was a mask but his eyes burned with something dark and dangerous.

Hatred. It had to be hatred.

What else could it be?

The song ended. Noah dipped her low and the crowd cheered. More pictures. More congratulations.

Eleanor Callahan appeared beside them, her face glowing. "That was beautiful, you two. Just beautiful." She clasped her hands together. "Noah, darling, don't you think now would be the perfect time?"

Noah's face lit up. "You're right, Mother. Absolutely right."

Sienna felt her stomach drop. "Perfect time for what?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Noah called out, his voice carrying across the ballroom. The band stopped playing. Conversations died. Every head turned.

"If I could have your attention for just a moment," Noah continued, reaching into his jacket pocket.

No. No, no, no.

But he was already dropping to one knee. Already pulling out a velvet box. Already opening it to reveal the biggest diamond she'd ever seen.

Eight carats. Maybe more. It caught the light and threw rainbows across the walls. The crowd gasped. Champagne corks popped somewhere behind her. The sound was like small explosions.

This was not the same ring. The first time Noah had proposed, three months ago in the privacy of his penthouse, he'd given her a three carat diamond. Beautiful. Expensive.

This was different. This was a statement. A declaration. A piece meant for public consumption.

"Sienna Blake," Noah said, his voice strong and clear. "You have made me the happiest man alive. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

The diamond sparkled in his outstretched hand. Pure, flawless perfection. Stunning. Worth more than most people would see in a lifetime.

It was also a shackle.

She could feel three hundred pairs of eyes watching her. Waiting. The cameras kept flashing. Someone's perfume was too strong, making her stomach turn.

Her mother stood at the edge of the crowd, tears streaming down her face. Her father nodded approvingly. Eleanor Callahan had her hands pressed to her heart.

And there, in the back of the room, stood Landon. His face was stone. His eyes were ice.

But for just a second, she caught it. A tiny crack in the mask. His jaw twitched. His hands clenched at his sides. Something raw flashed across his face before he buried it.

He did remember.

And it was killing him too.

She thought about the three carat stone she'd worn for months. The one Noah had given her during his first proposal. The one she'd slipped off her finger in the park just days ago.

This one was bigger. More expensive. More beautiful.

It would be an even tighter prison.

"Sienna?" Noah's voice was soft but urgent. He was still on one knee. Still waiting.

The crowd was getting restless. The silence stretched. Someone coughed. Someone shifted their feet.

Say no. The thought came from somewhere deep inside her. Wild and dangerous and desperate. Say no and run. Say no and choose yourself for once.

But then she looked at her mother's face. The pride and hope shining in her eyes. Her father nodding. Eleanor Callahan with her hands pressed to her heart.

The Blake family name. The business merger. The expectations of three hundred people.

And somewhere in the back of the room, Landon. Watching. Waiting to see what she'd do.

Part of her wanted to say yes just to hurt him back. To show him she didn't care either. That she could move on just as easily as he'd walked away from her. The pettiness of it shocked her but it was there, real and ugly. And maybe, just maybe, if she said yes loud enough, clear enough, she could convince herself it was true. That she'd moved on. That what happened between them meant nothing now.

Maybe saying yes was the only way to prove she was over him.

Even if it was a lie.

She swallowed the word no. Buried it deep where all her other rebellions went to die.

"I..." she started, her voice barely a whisper.

The silence stretched longer. People were starting to murmur.

"Yes," she finally choked out. The word felt like swallowing glass.

"I'm sorry?" Noah said, leaning closer. "I couldn't hear you."

"Yes," she said louder. Strong enough for the cameras to catch. Strong enough for Landon to hear. "Yes, I'll marry you."

The room erupted. Applause thundered. More champagne corks popped like gunfire. The band started playing.

Noah slipped the band onto her finger. It anchored her hand. So heavy she could barely lift it. He stood and kissed her while the crowd cheered.

Over his shoulder, Landon turned and walked away.

He didn't look back.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. More congratulations. More pictures. More speeches about the joining of two great families.

Sienna smiled through all of it. Showed off her new diamond. Let people gush over its size. Played the part of the happy bride to be.

But inside, she felt hollowed out.

Nothing except the weight dragging her hand down.

The party finally ended around two in the morning. The last guests headed to their cars. The staff began cleaning up.

"That was perfect," Eleanor said, hugging Sienna tight. "Absolutely perfect. It looks beautiful on you, dear. And now we're truly family." She squeezed Sienna's hands, her eyes bright with satisfaction. "Blood and marriage. Nothing stronger than that."

The words felt like a warning. Like chains being locked into place.

"Thank you," Sienna replied automatically.

"We should start planning the wedding right away," Eleanor continued. "June would be lovely. Or maybe May. We'll need to book the cathedral soon."

Planning the wedding. Of course. Because now that she'd said yes, everything else would follow. The dress. The flowers. The music. The rest of her life mapped out in careful detail.

"That sounds wonderful," she said because it was what was expected.

Noah drove her home to the Blake estate. When they reached her house, he walked her to the door.

"Thank you for tonight," he said, taking her hands. "For saying yes. For making me the luckiest man in the world."

"Thank you for this," she said, looking down at the massive stone. "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you." He kissed her forehead. His cologne was expensive. Subtle. Nothing like the scent of salt and sand she remembered from that night. "Sweet dreams, my love. I'll call you tomorrow and we can start making plans."

She watched him drive away, then let herself into the dark house. Her parents had stayed at the party later, probably discussing wedding details with the Callahans.

She climbed the stairs to her room and sat down at her vanity. The diamond threw a cold rainbow across her skin.

She opened her jewelry box and found the note hidden beneath her grandmother's pearls. The paper was soft and worn from being folded and unfolded so many times.

*You're going to be okay. Don't let them make you forget who you really are.*

Her hands shook as she held it. The note felt like it was burning her fingers. Like it was mocking her.

She had forgotten. She had let them make her forget. And now it was too late.

"Landon," she whispered into the dark room. The name tasted like regret. Like everything she'd lost and would never get back.

She hated herself for saying it. Hated herself for still caring about a man who had looked right through her tonight.

The stone caught the lamplight. Beautiful and heavy and cold.

Like a shackle around her finger.

Tightening with every breath.