Chapter 1

The ambient noise of the theater hummed around me, but I felt as though I were trapped in a soundproof vacuum.

It wasn't until my best friend, Thea Leblanc, nudged my shoulder that the sounds around me suddenly came rushing back.

"What's wrong, Violet?" she asked cautiously.

The green glow from the screen flickered across my face, making my skin look almost ghostly. I shook my head, handing her phone and bag back to her.

"I'm going to step out to the restroom," I said.

Thea immediately caught my wrist, anxiety flashing across her face. "Do you want me to come with you?"

The irony was almost laughable compared with the warmth I used to feel toward her. I forced a faint, bitter smile, saying, "It's just a quick trip to the restroom. You really can't trust me alone for five minutes?"

A flicker of guilt crossed her eyes. She gave me an awkward little smile before finally letting go. "All right. Make it quick."

I nodded, slipped out of the theater, and flagged down a cab. By the time I got out in front of our apartment building, Donovan O'Brien's name lit up my phone.

Instead of answering, I opened my call history and scrolled through it. There was a missed call from him almost every half hour, like clockwork.

I used to tease him about being ridiculously paranoid, but he would simply pull me against his chest, still visibly shaken by the fear that lingered after my accident.

"I need to hear your voice and know you're safe with my own ears before I can relax," he had said solemnly.

His therapist had told me Donovan was traumatized by what happened. If anything happened to me again, he might suffer a complete breakdown. So, I never missed any of his dozen or so calls each day, obediently telling him where I was every time he asked.

In reality, it had simply been the perfect excuse for him to keep tabs on me while he and Cheryl Cole carried on behind my back.

The call finally timed out, only for my phone to buzz again a second later. This time, I answered. Donovan's voice came through immediately, frantic with worry.

"Where are you, honey? Thea said you went to the restroom and never came back. She looked for you outside and couldn't find you."

I blinked rapidly against the burning in my eyes. "It was getting a little suffocating in there, so I came outside to get some fresh air."

A heavy silence settled over the line before Donovan spoke again, his voice thick with barely controlled emotion. "Okay, sweetheart. Just don't scare me like that again. Where are you? I'll have Thea come pick you up."

I stood on the sidewalk below our building and looked up at the tightly drawn curtains of our sixth-floor apartment.

Just as Donovan finished speaking, a low grunt escaped his throat, followed by the faint, muffled moan of a woman. The sound struck my ears like a clap of thunder.

The moment the line went dead, a wave of nausea surged through me. I doubled over, dry-heaving violently on the curb until my stomach twisted into painful spasms.

I was just struggling to straighten up when two figures emerged from the building's main entrance. The woman was Cheryl, the very person who had slammed her car into me three years ago.

Donovan had one arm wrapped affectionately around her waist. He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Violet will be back soon. I'll come see you tomorrow. I'm sorry for keeping you in the shadows like this."

Cheryl slipped her arms around his waist in return. "It's okay. Back then, I fell so hard for you that I was blinded by jealousy and lost control. I crashed into her because I couldn't stand seeing you with her.

"You never blamed me for it, and her parents even signed a release because I was so young. I already owe her so much. I don't deserve to ask for anything more."

Every word tore through my heart like a serrated blade. My eyes widened in disbelief as the strength drained from my body.

It hadn't been an accident at all. I had spent three years lying unconscious in a hospital bed, while the woman who caused it had been forgiven by everyone I trusted.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.

Donovan looked at Cheryl with aching tenderness and reached up to wipe the tear from the corner of her eye.

"Let me drive you home," he offered.

Just then, Thea came sprinting down the street, completely out of breath.

"Violet is gone!" she rasped. "I can't find her anywhere!"

Donovan's composure shattered instantly. Panic and terror flashed across his face as he shoved Cheryl aside and grabbed Thea by the arms.

"You had one job: keep an eye on her!" he barked, his features twisted with rage. "How could you lose her?"

I lowered my gaze, turned away, and quietly slipped into the shadows before any of them could notice me.