Chapter 2

Alec looked the same. His suit was impossibly sharp, his dark hair perfectly styled. He moved with the same easy confidence that charmed juries and disarmed opponents. He was the sun, and everyone else was just a planet caught in his orbit.

I felt a ghost of a flinch as he approached the car, my body remembering a time when his presence meant safety. Now, it just felt like a threat.

He opened my door, his hand resting on my arm. The touch was meant to be reassuring, possessive. "Haven. You' re home."

Before I could respond, another voice cut through the air, sweet and cloying. "Haven! Oh, darling, you' re finally here!"

Catalina.

Alec' s hand immediately dropped from my arm as if it were hot. He turned to her, a reflex I knew all too well.

I said nothing. I just watched her. She was a vision in a white dress, her blonde hair catching the afternoon light. She rushed forward, her hands clasped together in a performance of overwhelming emotion.

"I am so, so sorry for everything," she breathed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You have no idea how much I' ve prayed for this day."

"She means it, Haven," Alec said, stepping between us. His tone was firm, a subtle command. "Catalina has been a rock. She' s the one who planned all of this, for you."

He was telling me to be grateful. He was telling me that I owed her something. The injustice of it was a physical pressure in my chest.

I opened my mouth to speak, to say something, anything, but Alec took my elbow. "Come on, everyone' s waiting."

He guided me onto the patio, his grip unyielding. The low murmur of conversation stopped. All eyes turned to me. I could hear their whispers, sharp and clear.

"Is that her? She looks... rough."

"She killed her own father. Can you imagine?"

"What does Alec see in her? She' s nothing compared to Catalina."

"I heard she came from a trashy family. Abused or something."

"Alec and Catalina were together in law school, you know. They always belonged together."

I saw Alec' s jaw tighten. The smile on his face became strained. He pulled me closer, his arm wrapping around my shoulders in a protective gesture that felt years too late.

"Don' t listen to them," he murmured into my ear, his breath warm against my skin.

But his embrace offered no comfort. My body was a block of ice. I didn' t lean into him. I didn' t tremble. I just stood there.

Gently, deliberately, I pushed his arm away.

He looked down at me, his eyes wide with surprise. A flicker of something-confusion, maybe even hurt-crossed his face before he masked it.

I remembered a thousand times he had held me just like that. After a nightmare. After a stressful day. He had been my shield. The man who protected me from the world.

But it was all a lie. The one person I had needed protection from was him.

I didn' t need his protection anymore.

Alec' s frustration was a palpable thing. He couldn' t control my reaction, and it bothered him. He turned his glare on the gossiping guests.

He strode into the center of the patio, his voice booming with authority. "Quiet!"

The whispers died instantly.

"I want to make something perfectly clear," he said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "This is my wife, Haven Craig. She has been through an ordeal none of you could possibly imagine."

His defense of me was as much a performance as Catalina' s tears.

"Whatever you think you know, you' re wrong. She is the strongest person I know, and she is home. With me. If anyone has a problem with that, you can take it up with me directly."

A tense silence fell over the patio. People shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Catalina watching him, a flash of pure jealousy in her eyes before it was replaced by her signature look of fragile vulnerability. She picked up a champagne flute, her hand trembling ever so slightly.

She took a dramatic sip.

Then she raised her glass to me, her voice ringing with false sincerity. "To Haven. Welcome home."

She stepped forward, her eyes locking with mine. "Please. Can you ever forgive me?"