Elena’s POV

On the other side of the city, while the wreckage of the wedding was still echoing across headlines and gossip threads, I pushed open the office door and stepped into a space so quiet it felt deliberately sealed off from the world.

The sharp scent of antiseptic struck me first.

Dr. Li stood beside Damien, carefully disinfecting the wound at his temple, his movements steady and precise. A strip of gauze lay against Damien’s skin, stark white against the faint smear of dried ...