The Girl He Saved, the Woman He Lost

Her words pulled me straight back to three years ago. Back to the night I shattered that bracelet in front of half the city.

Lucian's gaze flicked to me, then back to Sofia.

"I won that for you," he said.

Sofia smiled as though she'd heard him.

"She's not a stranger," she said lightly. "And if I'm going to marry into this family, I should learn to share."

Then she stepped toward me and pressed the bracelet into my hand.

"Keep it," she said. "Lucian already had one made for me. I don't need a raffle prize too."

She slipped back to his side before I could answer.

I stood there with the bracelet in my palm, the diamonds cold against my skin.

Then the crowd shifted.

Someone hit my shoulder hard from behind. I stumbled off the curb just as a black sedan pulled forward from the line of waiting cars.

The side of the car grazed my leg hard enough to send me to the ground.

People shouted.

For a second, all I could hear was the rush of blood in my ears.

Lucian turned at the sound of the commotion.

The moment he saw me on the ground, his expression changed. He took a step toward me, his eyes fixed on my leg.

Then, through the noise, I heard Sofia's voice.

"Weren't you going to show me that place you told me about? We're going to be late."

The private pier.

Sofia caught his arm before he could take another step.

"Didn't you just say there wasn't much time?"

He stopped. He let Sofia keep hold of his arm and let her pull him away.

A woman near me muttered a curse and crouched beside me. "Are you okay?"

I pushed myself up before she could help too much.

"I'm fine."

My leg was throbbing so badly I could barely stand.

Still, I walked.

By the time I got back to the estate, I was limping badly enough that Mia went pale the moment she saw me.

She helped me onto the bed and pushed my dress up over my knee.

The bruise was already darkening.

"You should've called me," she whispered, reaching for ice.

I looked away.

"It's nothing."

But it wasn't.

That pier had once felt like mine.

Or maybe I had only been foolish enough to believe that too.

Years ago, I found it by accident. An old private dock hidden past the marina, quiet even on busy nights, where the water stayed black and still and the city lights blurred across the surface.

I brought Lucian there the first time like I was sharing a secret.

We stood at the edge of the pier with the cold wind off the harbor in our faces, and for once he wasn't Lucian Vestri, heir to half the city.

He was just a man standing next to me in the dark.

I remember leaning against the railing and telling him, "Don't bring anyone else here."

He looked at me for a long moment before he said, "I won't."

For years, I believed him.

The next morning, Sofia came to see me.

Lucian didn't come inside. He stayed just beyond the half-open door, a tall shadow in the hall, washed out by the pale morning light.

Sofia sat beside my bed and asked about my leg with perfect concern.

She had flowers sent in. A bottle of wine too. Expensive, tasteful things.

The kind that looked generous from a distance.

I thanked her and said as little as possible.

She didn't seem to mind.

Instead, she started talking about the night before.

About the pier. About the view. About how beautiful the water had looked.

About how gentle Lucian had been with her.

I gave her the same answer every time.

"That's nice."

"I'm glad."

"Sounds lovely."

By the end, even I could hear how empty I sounded.

Still, I kept my face calm.

Let her have that.

Let her leave thinking I didn't care.

When she finally stood, her gaze drifted around my room.

"It's a beautiful suite," she said.

It was.

Close to the main wing. Full of light. Warm even in winter.

Lucian had chosen it for me years ago.

He had filled it with everything I liked before I ever had to ask.

Soon enough, none of it would matter.

Mia helped me up and walked Sofia to the door.

She was waiting for Lucian in the hall.

He looked at my leg first.

"Is it any better?"

His voice was even, but his eyes stayed on me a second too long.

I nodded.

Then I looked at his hand.

The watch I had given him years ago was gone.

In its place was a signet ring stamped with the Bellini crest.

Sofia wore the same crest on a chain at her throat.

The old watch had never suited him anyway, I told myself.

It had been too simple. Too easy to forget.

I looked up at him and asked, as steadily as I could,

"When's the wedding?"