Chapter 1

A scream clawed its way up Carolyn Lindsey's throat, but it died as a choked gasp before it could find air.

Her eyes flew open, pupils shrinking to pinpricks against the dim morning light.

Her fingers dug into the sheets beneath her. Silk. Cool and impossibly smooth. Not the coarse, burning fabric of the curtains she'd wrapped around herself as the flames ate the world alive.

She sucked in a breath, then another, her lungs aching with the effort. Cold sweat plastered her thin nightgown to her skin. Her gaze darted around, slowly making sense of the shapes in the darkness. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling like a frozen starburst. Towering windows draped in heavy velvet. This wasn't the smoke-filled ruins of the estate.

This was the master bedroom in Chandler Finch's penthouse.

The mattress beside her dipped. A wave of cold, sharp cedarwood scent washed over her, a smell so familiar it made her stomach clench. It was his scent. Chandler's.

"Another nightmare?" His voice, rough with sleep and laced with its usual brand of cutting amusement, sliced through the quiet. "What are you planning on breaking this time?"

Carolyn's head snapped toward the sound. Her eyes met his, a pair of gray-blue irises as cold and stormy as the Atlantic. The sight of him, propped up on one elbow, his bare chest defined by shadows, sent a violent tremor through her. He was alive. He was here. The terror of the fire and the dizzying relief of this reality crashed together inside her chest, a collision so powerful it stole her breath again.

This time, she didn't scream. She didn't throw the lamp on the nightstand at his head like she had two weeks ago. She didn't spit venomous words designed to wound him.

Her lips trembled. A single, hot tear escaped and traced a path down her temple. Then another. They came without a sound, a silent, desperate flood.

Chandler's brow furrowed. The amusement in his eyes vanished, replaced by a guarded suspicion. This was new. This quiet, broken reaction was not in her playbook. He instinctively shifted back an inch, a subtle retreat.

She saw it. That flicker of hurt and defense in his eyes, a detail she'd been blind to in her past life. It was the tell. The tiny crack in his marble facade.

Before he could pull away further, she moved.

Carolyn launched herself across the small space between them, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her face against his bare chest. She clung to him with a strength born of sheer terror.

His body went rigid, hard as stone beneath her cheek. She could feel the shock radiate through his muscles. His hands hovered in the air, uncertain, unwilling to touch her.

She didn't care. All she cared about was the steady, powerful thud of his heart against her ear. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. It was the sound of life. The sound of a second chance.

She squeezed her eyes shut, smearing her tears against his warm skin. "Don't go," she whispered, her voice ragged and broken. "Please... don't leave."

His hands, which had been suspended in the air, finally came down. But they didn't wrap around her. They clamped onto her shoulders, his grip firm and impersonal.

He peeled her off him, the separation feeling like a physical tear. He forced her back against the pillows, his eyes dark and unreadable, searching her face for the angle, the trick. "Carolyn," he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "What new game are you playing?"

She was forced to look at him, to see the hard line of his jaw, the muscle ticking in his cheek. He was fighting for control. She knew that now.

She took a shaky breath, swallowing the sob that threatened to break free. She tried to smile, a weak, placating gesture that felt more like a grimace.

She didn't argue. She didn't fight. She simply lay back, her eyes never leaving his face, as if he were the only anchor in a world that had just been ripped apart and stitched back together.

Chandler stared at her for a long, silent ten seconds. He was looking for the lie, the performance. Finding none, he let out a short, cold huff of air.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, the movement sharp and decisive. His bare feet made no sound on the plush carpet. His back was a wall of muscle and rejection.

Carolyn's heart leaped into her throat. This was how it always started. He would leave, without a word, and she would later find out he had gone to Eugenia.

She had to do something. Anything. Even if it only bought her a few more seconds of his presence.

"Chandler..." The name was a soft plea, a sound so foreign in this room that it made him pause.

He stopped, his hand on the doorframe of the walk-in closet, but he didn't turn around. He gave her nothing but the cold, hard line of his profile.

Carolyn's hand tightened on the silk comforter, her nails digging into her own palm. She used a tone she had never used with him before in her entire miserable life. A tone of quiet submission. "Can you... go to the office a little later today?"

He finally turned, his face a mask of incredulous disbelief. A humorless smirk touched his lips. "What makes you think you have any right to make requests about my schedule?"

She dropped her gaze, hiding the desperation and the flicker of a plan forming in her mind. She had no leverage. Not yet. All she had was this body, this moment, and the knowledge of his deepest weakness. She had to test if there was any softness left for her to exploit.

Just as she was about to answer, a vibration buzzed against the marble of the nightstand.

His private phone.

The screen lit up, illuminating a name that sent a shard of ice straight through Carolyn's heart. Eugenia - Emergency.