aid out for her like a red carpet leading straight to an empire. Three years ago,

o be her prince charming, the man who would love her, protect her, and prove her father wrong. She had imagined a beautiful l

hat. Stories. And hers had

elittled her, crushed her under the weight of his disdain. His words cut deeper than knives, sharp-edged

They had been

ed heads with her beauty and elegance. Now, she was a whispered sc

even give h

st be c

n love with that hig

s and empty hallways, following her wherever she went. How they even knew about h

re her father had stripped her of her na

eone else for a little while, of losing herself in stories that weren't her own.

h. Not some co

lead, not play dre

let go of her. Cut her off without hesitation,

he f

industry where women like her weren't taken seriously. It was hard, so hard, but she had fe

rles had

ions, that she could have both love and success. B

, Suzanne. I can give y

he spotlight? Isn'

rass me in front of our friends by

m for a man who had never really wanted her,

d

, staring at a ceiling that felt jus

car

fam

l

a life that had onc

ad nothing to do with the sterile air or the rhythmic beeping of the machines surroun

r creak

n professional but unreadable. "How a

She wanted to tell the truth, that she felt like nothi

small, practiced smi

ed bitter on

t press. She simply moved toward the machines, adjusting the IV drip with p

she ge

ffness in her body made every movement a reminder of her reality. "W

ring a carefully measured smile. "Dr. Liam Carter

into her like a

Car

breath catching in her th

outside of the memories she had buried

i

Li

n away together. The only person who ever made her feel enough just as she was. Before her fathe

the edge of the bedsheet,

a coinciden

as no reason he would be in this hospital, in this city, in her l

down the hall, sl

th coming in short, uneven gasps. She told he

teps stopped right