Chapter 69

Jayden’s POV.

I could still hear the faint music from inside — laughter, clinking glasses, that same hollow joy that meant nothing to me. The garden lights flickered along the stone path, soft gold against the dark. Cecilia’s perfume lingered in the air before she even reached me. Sweet, heavy, like she’d walked through a field just to leave its scent behind.

She looked different in that white gown — not elegant like Allison, but striking, sharp. A kind of beauty that ...