HARPER
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the chandelier. Crystal droplets blurred against a white ceiling. For a few seconds, I just stared at it, letting the silence hum in my ears, until the pain hit.
A dull throb pulsed at the back of my skull, and in an instant, everything rushed back.
Owen.
Camilla.
The reporters.
My dress.
Nico.
A sharp wince escaped my lips. My hand flew to my head and met the rough texture of a bandage. I tried to sit up, only for a firm hand to press me gently back into the bed.
"Don't get up."
That voice.
"Dominic?" I whispered, my fingers closing around his before I turned my head toward him. He was sitting beside me, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Something was different about him. His hair was disheveled, the first few buttons of his shirt undone, his sleeves rolled to the elbows, and… Blood.
Fresh, dark smears across his cuff and along the back of his hand. I blinked once. Twice. Then my breath caught, eyes widening.
