The first snow of December drifts past the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Apex Innovations penthouse, a silent, white curtain over Tokyo. It's a scene of impossible peace.
Nicole Soma stands at the window, one hand resting on the cool glass, the other absently tracing the spine of a book on the shelf beside her.
A year. A year since the wedding in the snow-kissed courtyard. A year since the bloodshed in the basement was washed away, the scars—both visible and invisible—slowly fading into the tapestry of their lives.
She is no longer the girl in the emerald gown, nor the terrified captive in the warehouse. She is twenty-one, a wife, a partner, and a woman who has stared into the abyss and found her own reflection staring back.
She wears a simple black dress, her wild hair tamed into elegant twists. On her left hand, the massive diamond is now joined by a plain platinum band. They are twin seals on a contract written in blood and vows.
