"I couldn't afford to think that far. From the very beginning, the one I loved was Winslow. I only married Bellandi to keep her from ruining Winslow's happiness. I gave her up once. This time, God handed me a second chance, and I am not letting go."
The floor tilted beneath me.
Every surface I had built my grief on cracked at once. Every memory I had treasured, every whispered reassurance in the dark, every morning he had pressed his lips to my temple and called me his. All of it constructed on a lie so complete it had its own heartbeat.
From the beginning, everyone had loved Adrian Winslow. My sister. The pampered younger daughter of the Bellandi bloodline, the one my father presented at every feast night like a jewel on a velvet cloth. Julian's devotion to me had never been devotion at all. It was containment. A way to keep me occupied and quiet while the woman he actually wanted remained safe and adored.