CHAPTER 1

LIORA I may not have the perfect job, but I have the perfect man. And in less than twenty-four hours, I am supposed to have the perfect wedding. That is, if I don’t lose my mind first, thanks to my mother. I stood on the balcony of the private villa Evan rented for the wedding, resting my hands on the cool railing as I looked down at the garden below, and of course at my mother. From where I stood, I could see her in the middle of the garden, hands flying as she argued with one of the decorators. Even from up here, I could tell exactly what it was about. Baby pink versus blush pink. Honestly. At this point, who even notices the difference? The guests would be too busy eating, gossiping, and pretending to cry during vows to care about shades of pink. My phone chimed on the small table beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I reached for it quickly, and the moment I saw his name on the screen, a smile slipped onto my face. Evans: have you had lunch yet? Me: Not yet. I’m craving chicken and beer, but Mum is absolutely against it. She says it will make my face puffy tomorrow. I could already picture him smiling at his phone the moment he read my message. That Unable to stop the silly grin tugging at my own lips, I turned away from the balcony and walked back into my bedroom. I kicked off my slippers, climbed onto the bed, and dropped onto it with a tired little bounce. My phone buzzed again. Evans: I am sure she is just looking out for you. I snorted softly, my nose crinkling. Me: Are you saying you don’t want a bride with a puffy face tomorrow? Evans: Lol. Show up in a sack, and I will still marry you. A laugh escaped me before I could hold it in. I rolled slightly onto my side, biting my lower lip to keep myself from grinning too widely like an i***t. My legs dangled lazily off the edge of the bed as I typed back. Me: Then get me chicken and beer. For a second, there was no reply. I frowned slightly, watching the typing dots appear and disappear like he was debating something serious. Then it came through. Evans: I am not supposed to see the bride a day before the wedding. They say it’s a bad omen. I blinked at the screen, then scoffed out loud. A bad omen? Since when did Evans Blackwood believe in superstition? This was the same man who laughed at horoscopes and called fortune cookies “random sugar lies.” I rolled my eyes dramatically even though he couldn’t see me. Me: What could possibly go wrong? Me tripping over my dress? As long as you and I still make it to the altar, then I am fine. Evans: Chicken and beer coming up. See you in ten. Still grinning, I decided to head downstairs and check on the wine list my mother had insisted I go through. According to her, every single detail had to be “ perfect, but according to me, nobody was going to remember whether the wine paired well with the starter. But arguing with her at this point felt like trying to stop a moving train with my bare hands. I quickly changed into something warmer, grabbing a light cardigan before rushing down the stairs. I barely made it to the bottom step before I almost collided with my brother, Ricky. He looked at me the way he always did, half amused, half tired, like I was a walking disaster he had learned to tolerate. “Are you really that happy to move away from us?” he deadpanned, raising a brow as he held out the wine list. I snatched it from him with a grin. “Yes. Absolutely. Freedom tastes very sweet, Ricky.” “We should be grateful she finally put her phone down,” mum said, shaking her head. “Whenever it comes to Evans, we are invisible.” I laughed under my breath, already flipping through the pages of the wine list. “That’s because Evans is more interesting than all of you combined.” My mother made a sound of disbelief, but I didn’t stay long enough to hear her response. I moved away from them, heading toward the garden area, snatching a grape from a tray my father was holding as I passed. An hour later, done with the wine list, I started getting worried. Evans said ten minutes. It has been over an hour. At first, I told myself it was traffic. Or maybe he stopped for something. Maybe the chicken order took longer than expected. Maybe… I pulled out my phone. No response messages. I tried calling him. The line didn’t go through. My brows slowly drew together. I tried again. Still nothing. “Ricky!” He turned around slowly, already looking bored, one brow lifted. “What now?” I hurried toward him. “Can you try calling Evans? His number has been unreachable for over an hour.” Ricky exhaled through his nose like I was overreacting. “The young man is probably busy making finishing touches for the wedding tomorrow.” I shook my head immediately. “No. Evans is never too busy for me. Ever. Just try calling him.” Ricky opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say another word, mum rushed into the garden. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted, and I felt it instantly that something was wrong. Dad noticed it too. He was on his feet immediately, moving toward her with concern. “Babe?” he called out quickly. “What’s going on?” But my mother didn’t answer right away, her hands trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks. My throat tightened. “Mum,” I whispered, my voice already shaking. “You are scaring me.” The fact that I have been uable to reach Evans made my thoughts run wild. I took a step forward, but my feet wobbled, and my phone chimed at that same moment. I froze. Slowly, almost afraid of what I might see, I looked down. Evans. I opened the message immediately. Evans: I love you Liora, now and forever. I let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand to my chest as my body tried to catch up with the relief I felt at the moment. “He’s fine…” I whispered to myself, almost laughing in disbelief. “He’s fine.” I lifted my eyes slowly to Mum, trying to make sense of why she’s crying. “I need you to calm down,” Dad said as he stepped closer to her, holding her by the shoulders. “Talk to me properly so I can understand what you’re saying.” I was reading Evans’ message just seconds ago that I missed whatever it was she said earlier. Ricky was beside me now, but I noticed his expression had changed. His eyes looked wet, like he was fighting tears he didn’t want to let fall. What the f**k is going on? Mum tried to speak again, but her voice broke halfway. She covered her mouth for a moment, breathing unevenly. “There was a shooting…” she finally managed, her voice cracking. My heart dropped, but I still didn’t understand. “Outside Chicken Reps and Beer…” she continued, struggling to breathe between sentences. “Evans… he was there…” My fingers went numb around my phone. She looked at me then, like she didn’t want to say the next part. My whole body went still. More tears spilled down her face. “He was shot…” she whispered. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. It felt like my brain refused to accept what it had just heard. “No…” My voice came out small, broken. I shook my head immediately. “No, what are you talking about?” My legs moved before I even realized it. I stumbled forward, holding my phone up. “He just texted me,” I said quickly, almost desperately. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the screen steady. “Look. He just sent me a message.” Ricky suddenly appeared in front of me, his arms wrapping around me as I started to shake harder. “Hey…hey, calm down,” he said softly, but his voice was strained too. “We need you to breathe.” But I couldn’t. I pushed against him immediately, stepping back as if his touch was burning me. “No,” I said again, louder this time. “Evans is fine.” “He is,” Ricky quickly agreed. “It’s probably just a minor injury. He’s at the hospital getting treatment right now.” He looked from me to Mum, searching her face for confirmation. “Right, Mum?” I turned slowly to her. I needed her to say yes, but she couldn’t even look at me properly. Her face was covered in tears, her shoulders shaking violently as she tried to breathe through her sobs. “Right, Mum?” I whispered my voice breaking. She shook her head. Just once. “I’m sorry, Liora…” she choked out, her voice completely shattered. My body stopped listening to reason, to logic, to anything at all, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to break out of my chest. The field began to spin slowly, while faces blurred. I heard shouting. My name. Ricky’s arms reached for me again, but it was too late. My knees gave way before I could fight it. Everything went sideways. The last thing I saw was blurred faces rushing toward me, voices calling my name from far away. And everything went blank.