LOGINHe thought for a moment before he said, “I appreciate how smart you are. You’re studying to be a healer, and you’re good at it. I’ve seen the way you talk about your classes, the way you light up when you’re learning something new. It’s one of the things I’ve always admired about you.”I blinked. I
Ellie’s POVDinner was almost painfully quiet. We ate the roasted chicken and vegetables that the cooks had prepared, and Dominic made a few attempts at small talk, but mostly, it was only the sound of scraping cutlery and chewing and Vivian’s distant sobs that filled the air.After we finished eati
I passed my hand over my face and leaned back against the cushions as Amy went on to talk about each exercise. It all felt silly and useless, although I wouldn’t say that out loud. Not to her face, at least.But the truth was, I didn’t think any of this would work. Not when there was still a looming
Ellie’s POVI turned slowly to look at Dominic.“You hired a couples therapist?” I blurted out. “Since when?”“Since this morning, when it had been all night and you didn’t come home,” Dominic replied easily. “I figured it might be beneficial for us to talk to someone. A person who’s unbiased and tr
“You mentioned trauma before,” he said once they were gone. “And I’ve been thinking about that, too. I think whatever happened to you, whatever it is you won’t talk about, it’s affecting the way you see me. The way you see everything.”He wasn’t wrong. But he also wasn’t right, either. It was more c
Ellie’s POVI took the coffee from him, wrapping both hands around the warm cup, and followed him out of the library. The campus was already bustling as students went to their morning classes, many of them holding cups just like these ones.We walked in silence for a while, sipping our coffee. Domin
My heart hammers.“I just wanted you free,” I say, softer than I mean to.Her eyes narrow. “You wanted you free. You wanted to prove your parents don’t control you.”“That’s not true.”“Then what is?”I shouldn’t look at her mouth. I do anyway.“The truth,” I say low, “is you don’t make sense.”Her
Dominic POV The applause hasn’t even finished rippling through the room when my parents say Ellie’s name.I stand there on the edge of the stage, jaw tight, shoulders squared, every instinct in me bristling.I didn’t know what to feel.Relief it wasn’t some princess I didn’t know?Shock that my par
Ellie POV Dominic doesn’t say a word.He just takes my hand and turns, already moving, guiding me through the crowd like this is inevitable and not wildly out of no where.“Dominic?!” I half whisper, half yell, as the dance floor opens beneath our feet. “Dominic! Let go! What are you doing?”“We’re
Vivian POV I am not nervous.Nervousness is for girls who don’t plan.I smooth my gloves as I stand at the edge of the ballroom, breathing in candle smoke and polished marble, letting the music settle into my bones. Every detail tonight has been chosen with intention, every curl pinned just so, and







