Chapter 1

I knew Leon Hall was in love with someone else. To protect that woman, he left me behind time and time again.

For five years, I loved him. So I endured another woman at the Hall Family's dinner table. I endured her moving through our waterfront estate as if it were hers. And I endured the same excuse every time I objected: "She has no one else."

That ended today, the day Leon and I were supposed to go to the county clerk's office for our marriage license.

I waited at the county clerk's office all day. I called him ten times.

He finally texted two words: "Wait for me."

I stayed until the clerk locked the doors for the night. Leon never came.

I followed his location to a VIP lounge at a private nightclub owned by the Hall Family.

He had Elena Russo cradled against his chest, murmuring to her as if she might shatter in his arms.

When he saw me, a flicker of panic crossed Leon's face, but he didn't let go of her.

"Elena had a fight with her husband, Damian Russo. She ran out and got drunk. I can't leave her like this."

I stared at him. "So you left me waiting at the county clerk's office all day?"

Leon frowned, utterly unapologetic. "We can get the license another day. Damian nearly beat her to death tonight. I wasn't going to abandon her."

In that moment, I didn't even have the energy to argue. Carrying a relationship alone was exhausting. I was done.

Chapter 1

Leon saw that I wasn't responding and let go of Elena. He tugged at his tie, irritated.

"I told you, Elena fell apart tonight. I couldn't let something happen to her on Hall territory. We can get the license tomorrow. The county clerk isn't going anywhere."

Elena stood up and looked at me, her eyes rimmed red.

"Nora, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't fought with Damian, Leon wouldn't have stayed with me and made you miss your appointment. Please don't be angry with him. I'll leave right now..."

She headed for the door, then made a show of stumbling. Leon caught her at once, his voice soft with concern.

"You've had so much to drink. Where would you even go? I told you, no one's going to touch you tonight."

When he turned to me, his expression went cold.

"Nora, Elena just got beaten. Do you really have to humiliate her right now?"

I said nothing. Five years. I'd heard this kind of thing too many times.

On my birthday, Elena had called saying the thunder scared her. He dropped everything and left.

When a high fever landed me in the Hall Family's private clinic, Elena said she was craving cheesecake from the Westside casino's pastry kitchen. He left me there to fetch it for her.

At my first Hall Family dinner, the old guard watched me so closely my palms went cold. Then Elena texted that she was afraid to be alone, and Leon walked out without a word.

Every single time, he acted as if he were in the right. Every single time, he told me I was being childish.

I thought that if I stayed quiet enough and gave him enough, I could warm a heart of stone.

I couldn't. Stone stays stone. I turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Leon called after me.

"Home." I didn't look back.

Leon seemed to breathe a little easier, his tone softening.

"Go ahead. I'll get Elena settled and come home. First thing tomorrow, I promise I'll take you to get the license."

I went back to the waterfront estate we'd shared for five years.

White-rose garlands I'd chosen hung in the living room, and favor boxes for the Hall elders covered the table.

I pulled down every garland and dumped it in the trash with the favor boxes.

When I was done, I took a shower and lay down in bed.

At three in the morning, Leon walked in reeking of alcohol and Elena's rose perfume.

He came to the bed without even taking off his jacket and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Still awake?" His voice had taken on that coaxing note he used when he wanted me to give in.

I didn't move. I let him hold me.

"Come on, don't be upset. Elena is family to me. Damian is a violent drunk. Tonight he even sent men to block her car. You've always been understanding. You get why I couldn't leave her, right?"

I listened to his words and felt nothing at all.

"If Damian is abusing her, why not send the Hall Family's attorneys? Why not call the police?"

Leon froze, as if he hadn't expected me to push back.

His arms tightened around me, a thread of impatience creeping into his voice.

"Do you have any idea how many casino accounts are tied to their marriage? Going to the police would only blow things up. Elena is too fragile. She needs someone looking out for her."

I sat up and turned to face him.

"So you're going to look out for her for the rest of your life?"

Leon's expression darkened.

"Nora, do you really have to start this in the middle of the night? I said I'd take you for the license tomorrow. What more do you want? There is nothing between Elena and me. Keep this up, and even I'm going to get tired of it."

I looked at his self-righteous anger and almost laughed. He used that same denial to excuse every boundary he crossed.

Then he'd pin it all on me. I was the childish one. I was the petty one. I wasn't good enough to be a Hall woman.

I didn't argue the way I used to. I just said quietly, "I don't want to fight. Go sleep in the other room."

Leon stood up, walked out of the bedroom, and slammed the door behind him. I lay back down and closed my eyes.

Chapter 2

The next morning, when I came downstairs, Leon was already sitting at the dining table.

A plate of my favorite blueberry pancakes waited on the table. It was his favorite trick: hurt me first, then offer something sweet. When he saw me, he stood and pulled out a chair.

"Eat while it's hot. After that, I'll take you to try on the wedding dress. The one you've been waiting six months for? It just came in today."

He didn't mention the night before at all, as if nothing had happened.

I sat down and ate in silence. Seeing that I wasn't making a scene, Leon smiled, satisfied.

"Let's go. I'm all yours today."

When we arrived at the private bridal atelier that handled Hall Family weddings, the manager hurried over to greet us.

"Mr. Hall, Ms. Bennett. Welcome."

I nodded and followed the manager inside. The fitting-room door opened just as we reached it. Elena stepped out in my wedding dress. She gasped when she saw me, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Nora, what are you doing here?"

Leon stopped in his tracks.

He stared at Elena. Surprise flashed across his face, then gave way to naked fascination.

I turned to the manager.

"What is going on?"

The manager blotted his forehead, stumbling over his words. "She said she was a friend of Mr. Hall's and insisted on trying it on..."

"I told her she could." Leon snapped out of it and cut the manager off.

He walked to Elena's side and straightened the hem of the gown for her.

"Elena cried all night. She's in a bad place. She said she never had a proper wedding and just wanted to know what it felt like to wear a gown."

Leon turned to me, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You can try it on after her."

I looked at the dress on Elena.

I had helped design every detail of that dress. Every beaded accent, every curve of the waistline held my hope for the future.

Now it was on another woman.

"Take it off," I said.

Elena's eyes went red.

"Nora, I'm sorry. I was just so envious of you. I've never worn such a beautiful wedding dress. I'll take it off right now. Please don't be angry."

She gathered the skirt and hurried toward the fitting room. Her heel caught in the gown, pitching her toward a side table set with sparkling water and champagne flutes.

"Oh God!"

Elena screamed as she hit the ground.

"Elena!"

Leon's face drained of color. He shoved me aside and rushed to her.

The force of his push sent me stumbling backward, my lower back slamming into the doorframe. Pain blacked out my vision for a second.

Leon didn't even glance at me. He pulled Elena into his arms and frantically checked her leg.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

Elena sobbed and pointed to her leg. A shard from one of the flutes had opened a shallow cut along her calf, and beads of blood welled on her skin.

"Leon, it hurts..."

Panic twisted Leon's face. He spun on me and roared.

"Are you happy now, Nora? She just wanted to try on a dress, and you had to force her to take it off. Now she's hurt. Is that what you wanted?"

I stared at him, stunned by the hypocrisy.

"Did I push her?"

Leon clenched his jaw. "If you hadn't pressured her, would she have fallen?"

"It's one dress. Elena has always been terrified of getting hurt. What if that cut scars?"

Just a dress.

The dress I'd waited six months for, the dress I'd poured my heart into, meant less to him than a scratch on Elena's leg.

The manager stood frozen, too afraid to speak. A disbelieving laugh slipped out of me.

"I don't want this dress anymore. And the wedding is off."

Leon's expression shifted, then twisted into a sneer.

"Again with this, Nora? Calling off the wedding over something this small? Fine. Marry me or don't. I don't have time for your tantrums."

He scooped Elena up in his arms and strode out of the boutique.

Cradled against his chest, Elena looked back at me over his shoulder. The corner of her mouth curled into a smug little smile.

Chapter 3

I didn't go back to the estate. Instead, I went to the veterinary clinic beside the Hall Family's private hospital.

I picked up my dog, Buck. I'd found him as a stray in an alley behind the docks five years earlier. He was gentle and seemed to understand every word I said.

When I brought Buck back to the estate, Elena was sitting on the couch, her calf wrapped in gauze.

She shrank back when she saw the dog.

"Nora, you're back."

Leon came out of the kitchen with a glass of water. He frowned at the sight of Buck.

"Why did you bring that dog back? Elena is staying here for a few days, and she's afraid of dogs. Put him in the backyard. Don't let him scare her."

I stopped and looked at him coldly.

"This is my home. Why can't my dog be here? If she's afraid of dogs, she can go back to her own house."

Leon set the glass on the coffee table, barely containing his anger.

"Nora, do you really have to talk like that?"

I didn't bother arguing. I took Buck to the backyard, put out some food for him, and went to my room.

That afternoon, agonized yelping erupted from the backyard. I ran outside.

I shoved the back door open, and the sight beyond it stopped me cold.

Elena gripped a metal baseball bat and brought it down hard on Buck.

Buck was chained to a post. He had nowhere to run.

"Stop!"

I charged forward and shoved Elena away. She let herself fall, and the bat clattered across the patio. I dropped beside Buck.

He was trembling all over. Weakly, he licked my hand, a whimper rattling in his throat.

"Buck, Buck, are you okay?"

Leon came rushing in.

He saw Elena on the ground and his face went white. He ran to her and helped her up.

"Elena, what happened?"

Elena held up one scraped palm, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Leon, I just came outside for some air. Nora's dog went crazy and tried to bite me. I grabbed the bat to protect myself, and Nora came charging out and shoved me."

Leon saw the scrapes on her hands, and his eyes blazed. He turned and stared me down.

"Nora, what the hell is wrong with you?"

I held Buck tight, my teeth clenched, my eyes burning.

"Are you blind? Buck is chained up. How could he bite her? She was beating him with that bat."

Leon wasn't listening. He glanced at Buck, barely clinging to life, and gave the order without hesitation.

"That dog is dangerous. Get rid of it."

Several enforcers came through the gate carrying batons. I threw myself over Buck, shielding him with my body.

"Touch him and see what happens! Leon, if you hurt Buck, I swear I'll make you pay."

Leon sneered.

"Nora, you really are hopeless. You'd go to war with me over a dog? That dog dies today."

He flicked one hand. Two enforcers dragged me away while the others raised their batons and brought them down on Buck.

"No! Please, don't hit him! Leon, I'm begging you, let him go. I'll take him and leave. I'll never come back."

I threw away every last shred of pride and begged until my voice broke. Leon only watched me with cold indifference.

"Now you're begging? Too late. This is the price of protecting a vicious animal."

At last, the blows stopped. Buck lay motionless in a pool of blood, his eyes still fixed on me. They seemed to ask why I hadn't saved him.

I collapsed to the ground, staring at Buck's body, too broken even to cry.

Five years of love. Five years of devotion. In that moment, every bit of it crumbled to dust.

I looked at Leon, my eyes hollow.

"Leon. You and I are done."