—Ellie—  

     I hovered beside the bed, unable to move. The white sheets were gone, sheets covered in my blood. Tristan had taken them, and I knew why. I closed my eyes for a moment. He would send them to my family. They would find out what had happened. What would they think? Would they hate me? Banish me?  

    This wasn’t rape. I could not defend my actions. There was no force, no torture, no violence. Mateo had risked his life for me. Men had died because of ...