Chapter 1 - THE BRIDE WHO STOPPED HIDING

“He must be blind.”

Clara Hart’s voice carried farther than she intended—or perhaps exactly as far as she intended.

Laughter moved through the wedding ballroom.

Some guests covered their mouths.

Others lowered their eyes too late.

Elena stood beside the cake in her white gown, one hand gripping the silk at her hip. Pale scars crossed the left side of her face, curved beneath her jaw and disappeared below the lace at her shoulder.

She had spent three years learning not to apologize for surviving.

One cruel sentence brought every old instinct back.

Lower your face.

Move away from the light.

Make other people comfortable.

Her aunt Vivian lifted her champagne glass.

“At least the poor man won’t notice what he married.”