The Bride's Double life

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Before

m. The morning of her wedding should have been filled with excitement, joy, maybe nerves. But for Camille, it stirred ghosts. Her reflection in the antique glass didn't show the radiant bride-to-be. It showed a woman who was about to be caught between two lives she

a trench coat over fishnet tights. She had just performed as "Lola Rowe," her alter ego-mysteriou

sleeves rolled up. The sight of her had startled him-and then intrigued him. The brick heard h

with curious eyes. "And you look like

unexpected, poetic li

another silver spoon prodigy. She told him she was a lounge singer, nothing more. He didn't ask questions like most men do. There was no hunger to pin her down, just a fasc

ed in slices and s

ed by paper. They fell in love for the first time in Ethan's downtown loft. There was no script. It wasn't roses or champagne. It was intuitive. After a lengthy performance at the Red Veil, she had r

dark. They spoke very little. He kissed her as though he were afraid he would forget how. She slowly undressed while keeping an eye on him as she unhooked the dress's strap. There was a rawness to it-no performance, no seduction m

't have to keep secrets with me." She just did. She needed to. Camille was unable to simply leave the past. It clung to her in the form of unpaid de

d, strict, and awestruck by Camille's "charm" and "elegance." She came from smoke and secrets, they had no idea. He proposed at the Ridgewell T

want," he said, "bu

. Maybe the lies could fade. Maybe the fire ins

f the engagement ring, which featured a cushion-cut diam

and written in smudged red ink beneath her door: "Lola, is Ethan

shook inside. Tomorrow,

he still belonged

d of the Ward estate. Champagne flutes in hand, polite laughter punctuating the conversations, gues

nt, composed. But her eyes betrayed something else: calculation. Across the courtyard, Ethan Ward leaned into a quiet conversation

Confessions were sparked by something about him like moths to a flame. Avery Kent approached Camille from behind, a long-time friend with a wild heart and an even wilder past. "You're doing that look again," she said, brushing a strand o

wing up uninvited. His eyes, still knowing and dangerous, met Camille's and held. "You didn't think you could get married without me giving you my blessing, did you?" Jonas said,

e never faltered. "And yet, yo

r change," she rep

ent, alert but not on duty. Camille's name had come up too many times in places it didn't b

rnate, widow to a shipping magnate, and the silent financier behind many of Ethan's ventures. Howev

rime memoirs, had arrived at the last minute. She hadn't spoken to Camille in years. She didn't plan to start tonight. Howe

ickered to life, Dominic Crane disappeared in

you sure you want to go through wit

in and dangerous. "I'm not th

that moment, offeri

took it.

a glass. "To love, and th

toasted

introduced as a guest of Ethan's distant cousin-just another charming face-and is tall, composed, and devastatingly familiar. But Camille goes cold. She knows Dominic. Years ago, in a life she buried be

ille returns to her bridal suite to find a red envelope beneath the door. Inside, a note w

the curtain is lifting, and Dominic's arrival threatens to unravel everything. She thought she could outpace her past

a war zone of satin, curls, and suppressed panic. Her eyes betray a sleepless night. She do

e hotel bar, calm as ever, watching the