Chapter One
Itry to push the unease out of my mind as I round a corner, but it’s persistent, clawing at the edges of my thoughts.
The sharp winter air of Paris pierces through my coat, sending a shiver down my spine, The wind tosses stray strands of hair into my eyes. I shove one behind my ear, forcing my feet to move faster. The urge to glance over my shoulder claws at me, but I grit my teeth and keep my gaze forward.
No one’s following me. I keep telling myself that, like a broken record.
They don’t know where I am.
Hedoesn’t know where I am.
Or does he? My steps falter, an icy cold dread settling in my chest. No, Damian doesn’t know.
The whole reason I picked Paris was because it’s my favorite place in the world. And that’s exactly why I thought it was the perfect hiding spot. Damian knows how much I adore this city—he’d never expect me to stay somewhere so obvious. No one would. Who’s foolish enough to hide in the one place everyone associates with them? By choosing Paris, I thought I was outsmarting him.
But what if I was wrong? What if Damian knows me better than I thought? What if he’s already here, waiting for me to slip up?
Because for the past hour, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Every few minutes, the hairs on my neck bristled, my instincts screaming at me to run, to hide. But every time I turned to scan the streets, I found nothing. Just tourists with their cameras, locals rushing past. Ordinary. Safe.
Until it wasn’t.
A figure caught my eye—just a glimpse at first. A man in a dark suit slipping through the crowd, his movements too deliberate, too familiar. My pulse spiked as my gaze locked on him for a fleeting second, and my stomach dropped.
Hal.
Damian’s chief of security.
It had to be him. The way he moved, the breadth of his shoulders, the subtle menace in his stride—it was unmistakable.
I was terrified. The kind of fear that seeps into your bones and locks you in place, paralyzing every instinct to move. For a few beats, I couldn’t even breathe. The mere thought of being caught by him—of being dragged back—made my skin crawl, my chest tighten until I felt like I might shatter.
But I couldn’t let fear win. Even with my heart racing and my legs trembling, I knew I had to be sure. I had to know if the man I saw was really Hal.
Because if it was, then Damian was already one step ahead of me.
So to confirm, I followed that man but he turned out to be someone else.
It’s been a week since I ran. A week since I slipped out of the life that felt more like a cage than a marriage. Maybe that’s all this is—paranoia. My fear playing tricks on me, twisting shadows into threats and strangers into ghosts from my past.
After everything I’ve endured, it’s no surprise my mind is conjuring up dangers where there are none. Spending a year trapped in a marriage that felt more like a prison leaves its scars. Maybe that’s why I thought I saw Hal. For a moment, I let my fear convince me he was here.
But he wasn’t. That man wasn’t Hal.
It’s just my fear.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force the thoughts away.
You’re okay, River. You’re miles away from him.
But it’s useless.
Damian’s presence has haunted every moment of this week. I’ve tried so damn hard to shut him out, to bury him in the depths of my mind. But no matter how much I try, he’s always there, lingering like a dark cloud, just behind my thoughts.
Still rattled, I push open the door to the first bar I see, almost stumbling as I rush inside, desperate to drown out the noise of my own thoughts.
Dread fades with the first glass of wine and paranoia disappears by the third.
“Is this seat taken?”