6
Walking beside Landon King, I could almost
feel the nervous energy radiating off him, a
subtle tension in the air, a sense of him not
quite knowing what to do or say.
When we paused to rest in a quiet garden
gazebo, Landon had someone bring over a
selection of delicate, delicious–looking
pastries and refreshing drinks.
I watched him, so thoughtful, fussing over me,
making sure I was comfortable.
And suddenly, my eyes welled up.
In my last life, after Silas had… after he’d
carved me open, my soul had lingered,
trapped in that horrifying place.
く
In that filthy, blood–soaked warehouse, I’d
seen Landon. He’d found me, or what was
left of me. He’d stood before my butchered
remains, his face a mask of sheer,
uncomprehending horror. His tears, hot and
heavy, had splashed onto my cold, lifeless
hand.
It felt like a searing burn, even to my ghostly
form.
He’d reached out, as if to gather me, to hold
me, but his hands had hovered, suspended in
the air, lost, before falling helplessly to his
sides.
He’d collapsed beside me, his body wracked
with sobs, his voice choked with a furious,
heartbroken grief. “If I had known… if I had
only known it would come to this ” bo’d went
<
only known it would come to this,” he’d wept,
“I would never have let you marry him!
Never!”
I’d watched him, utterly bewildered.
My memories of Landon were mostly from
childhood. He was my older brother’s age.
Back then, I’d been a brat, jealous of anyone
who stole my brother’s attention, so I’d
always treated Landon with a cool
indifference.
Then came the accident, the devastating car
crash. His legs had been so badly injured
they’d talked about amputation. Grandma
King, desperate, had sent him overseas for
treatment.
He’d been gone for ten long years, vanished
from our world, it seemed.
That’s why everyone in our social circle still
thought of him as “the cripple.”
But why… why had he cared so much? Why
that consuming grief?
This time, I thought, a new resolve hardening
within me, this time I would find the answers I
so desperately needed.
Later, at the main reception, it felt like the
entire city’s elite had turned out.
I’d rejoined my parents, and across the
crowded, glittering room, I saw Landon. He
was standing beside Grandma King, but his
eyes were fixed on me. A silent, steady gaze.
<
As the evening was drawing to a close,
Grandma King suddenly called me up to the
stage.
She took my hand, her grip surprisingly firm,
and placed it solemnly into Landon’s. Then,
her voice ringing with pride, she officially
announced our marriage to the assembled
guests.
And there, under the bright lights, with
everyone watching, she slid the King family’s
ancestral jade bangle onto my wrist. It was
heavy, cool against my skin, and undeniably
real.
A wave of stunned murmurs rippled through.
the crowd.
After all, in their eyes, Landon King and Quinn
く
Hamilton were practically strangers. This
sudden union? It was the stuff of
unbelievable, fantastical gossip.
Just as the collective shock was settling in, a
commotion erupted at the ballroom entrance.
Silas Thorne, having shoved past the
bodyguards, stumbled into the room, looking
utterly disheveled, his eyes wild and
desperate.
He stood at the foot of the stage, all his
former arrogance and disdain completely
gone. He looked like he was on the verge of
collapsing, of actually kneeling before my
father.
“Uncle,” he pleaded, his voice raw and
desperate, “Quinn has loved me since we
were children! You know this! Please, I’m
begging you, call off this engagement with
Landon King! Let me marry her! Please!”
Cora Stone arrived just in time to witness this
pathetic display. Her face twisted into an ugly
mask of pure, unadulterated fury.
My father, however, the moment Silas’s knees
had threatened to buckle, had simply turned
his back, refusing to even look at him.
Seeing this, Silas, his last hope dwindling,
locked his desperate gaze on me.
“Quinn! Say something! Have you forgotten
everything? All our beautiful memories? We
made promises to each other, Quinn! You
said you’d never marry anyone but me! Have
you forgotten all of that?”
Г
Grandma King’s face was a thundercloud.
I glanced at Landon. His brow was furrowed,
and when he looked at me, I saw a flicker of
raw hurt, of fear, deep in his eyes.
It was a look that sent a shiver down my
spine, a chilling echo of the tears he’d shed
over my broken body in that other, horrific
lifetime.
I offered Landon a small, reassuring smile.
Then, I turned to face the silent, watching
crowd, my voice clear and steady.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I must confess, I’m
rather confused as to why Mr. Thorne has
chosen to make such… slanderous
Г
“I’ve always considered him a brother,
nothing more. Yes, he was a part of my
childhood, a companion as I grew up, but my
feelings for him never extended beyond that
of a sibling.”
“And as for his claims of us having made
‘private vows‘ to each other? That is utter
nonsense. Frankly, Silas, if you continue to
spread such baseless and damaging lies, I will
have no choice but to pursue legal action for
defamation.”
I let my gaze sweep over him, cold and
dismissive. “Besides, isn’t it common
knowledge that you and my dear sister, Cora
Stone, are practically inseparable? If anyone
here has made ‘private vows,’ wouldn’t it be
far more likely to be the two of you?”
く
Silas stared at me, his face a mask of
stunned, uncomprehending disbelief.
“No! That’s not true! Quinn, you know I was
talking about you! Why are you trying to push
me away, to throw me at another woman?”
His expression was frantic. He paused, a
strange, dawning look flickering in his eyes,
as if he’d suddenly solved a complex puzzle.
“I get it!” he exclaimed, a note of triumph
creeping into his voice. “You’re jealous!
That’s it, isn’t it, Quinn? You’re angry that
Cora and I have been spending so much time
together, so you’ve cooked up this elaborate
scheme to punish me!”
I just frowned, a wave of revulsion washing
over me.
Silas, however, looked like he’d had a grand
epiphany. “Quinn, my love, a joke is only
funny if both people find it amusing. If you
admit it now, if you just confess, I can find it
in my heart to forgive you for… for all of
this.”
“Mr. Thorne,” I said, my voice dripping with
disdain, “what exactly is it that you expect me
to ‘admit‘? The situation is precisely as it
appears. And frankly, I have never, not even
for a fleeting moment in my childhood,
harbored any romantic feelings for you. So,
the very notion of me being ‘jealous‘ is quite
absurd.”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Silas,
his face contorted with rage, lunged forward,
as if to grab me.
<
“No! No! Quinn, you can’t do this to me!
You’re lying! You do love me! You said you’d
only ever love me!”
He never reached me. A solid, reassuring
presence materialized in front of me.
Landon King. His voice was cold,
authoritative. “Get him out of here. Now.”
I looked at Landon’s broad shoulders, a
sudden, overwhelming sense of safety and
peace washing over me.
My eyes stung, tears pricking at the back of
them, threatening to spill.
Silas glared at Landon with pure,
unadulterated hatred.
Г
“Landon King, who the hell do you think you
are? This is between Quinn and me! It’s none
of your damn business, you outsider! Let go
of me!”
Silas was screaming at the top of his lungs.
One of the bodyguards, with a weary sigh,
casually grabbed a dirty sock from
somewhere
–
God knows where
–
and
unceremoniously stuffed it into Silas’s gaping
mouth.
I didn’t spare Silas another glance. I turned
and reached for Landon’s hand.
Landon looked momentarily surprised, then a
slow, gentle smile touched his lips.
It was a smile that warmed me from the
inside out like a
of
く
inside out, like a ray of sunshine breaking
through on a cold winter’s day.
But even then, as he lowered his gaze for a
–
moment, I caught it a fleeting shadow of
sadness, a lingering sorrow deep within his
eyes
