The Engagement's End, A New Beginning

rtant night of my life, the official ann

toast, another woman-Isabel-let out a

d me. He pushed me aside to get to her, his arm conne

anded hard on the polished marble floor, a collective gasp

el to her feet, tucked her protectively against his side, an

s caused!" he snarled, his

will not be bound to a woman

stole my breath, a searing agony as the bond I thought we shared was v

y back alley, my body finally succumbing to a str

to a halt. A man emerged, impossibly tall and radiating

the silver locket our family doctor h

umble that vibrated through the

r my face, his expression a chil

the daughter of the woman

pte

d on a bed of black silk, was the antique silver watch I'd spent three months saving for. Its fac

ia, where families were more like dynasties, our union was less a romance and more a merger. But for me, it had always been love. I had

lection stared back, a stranger with pale skin and shadows under her eyes. For weeks, this strange fat

vent for five hundred of Veridia's most influential people. But this

dresser thick and cloying, almost funereal. I pushed the t

ht, it just made my skin look sallow. I checked the time on my phone. Seven-fifteen. Mark was sup

g. When I'd tried to ask if something was wrong, he'd just bru

stressed. His father had been putting immense pressure on him at the company

ail of a siren on the streets of Veridia below. I couldn't wait any longer. The party was at his fa

he city lights blurred into a watercolor painting as I walked, my heels clicking a lonely rhythm on the wet

t from the grand, lit windows. My heart sank. The party had already s

the party hit me like a physical blow. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume, champagne, and gour

e crush of a party. I made my way through the throng, murmuring apologies as I squeezed p

rgamot. It led me away from the manicured rose bushes and toward a small, hidden grove of weeping

here

e hair that seemed to shine even in the dim light. I recognized her instantly. Isabel. A junior analyst

He was holding her hand, his head bent low, his focus entirely on a tiny, insignificant cut on her finger. He dabbed at it with

e. The casual, unthinking intimacy. The way his broad shoulders were hunched to protect her from the chill. He looked up, and his e

n my hand suddenly fel

e came out as a

before a cold mask slammed down. Isabel pulled her hand back, a faint, triumphant smir

devoid of warmth. He didn't move t

words feeling stupid and small. "

to Isabel, a silent question in his eyes. "Isa

eyes of the city's elite boring into my back, even though we were hidden

me, his movements stiff. "Do

he pain a physical thing, a shard of glass in

ny. She's important." He gestured vaguely toward the ballroom. "This whole thing, the party,

space between us. Our entire life together, my unwav

on the small of Isabel's back. "Come on," he murmured to h

ack. Not once. I was left standing alone in the dark, the cold seeping into my bones, clu