Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

The venue is perfect. Garden setting. White flowers everywhere. String quartet playing. Perfect weather. Blue sky. Gentle breeze. Everything a wedding should be.


Three hundred guests. All watching. All dressed perfectly. All believing this is real. That I'm marrying Ethan because I love him. Because I chose him. Because this is my happy ending.


None of them know. None of them suspect. This wedding is strategy. Cover. The first move in destroying Sterling Industries. The first step in executing Method Four. The beginning of the war to save Chase.


I stand in the preparation room. Looking at myself in the mirror. White dress. Perfect makeup. Bouquet of white roses. Looking exactly like a bride should look.


Feeling nothing like a bride should feel.


"You look beautiful," Catherine says. Standing beside me. Maid of honor. Despite our complicated history. Despite everything with Chase. "Ethan is lucky."


Chapter 59 - The Wedding Day