Secrets are heavy things.

And the worst kind aren’t the ones you hide from others

They’re the ones someone else uncovers about you, before you’re ready to admit them.

And Alexander Knight had just touched the one secret I could never explain.

---

The waltz ended, but my body hadn’t stopped trembling. Not from the music, not from his hands steady on mine, but from the words still echoing in my skull.

Be careful, Elena. The last time you trusted the wrong man… you lost everything.

The last time.

As if he knew.

Impossible.

No one could know. Not unless they had lived my death, my betrayal, my regret. And yet, Alexander’s gaze—cool, piercing—held something too sharp to be coincidence.

I tried to steady my breath as couples applauded and drifted apart. He released me, but the weight of his warning clung like chains.

“What did you mean by that?” I whispered, my voice low.

He tilted his head, lips curving faintly. “Did I say something?”

Frustration flared. He was toying with me, and worse, I let him.

“You speak in riddles,” I said tightly.

“Only to those who can solve them,” he replied, already turning away.

And just like that, he left me standing alone in the middle of the ballroom, breathless, furious, and—God help me—intrigued.

---

The Mask I Wear

“Elena!”

Richard’s voice cut through the haze, too bright, too eager. I turned to find him approaching again, his smile wide as though he’d won some invisible contest.

“There you are,” he said, slipping a hand around my elbow, possessive as ever. “You disappeared.”

“I was dancing,” I said flatly.

“With Knight?” His eyes darted toward Alexander’s retreating form, bitterness flashing before he smothered it with a grin. “What a coincidence. But you’re far too radiant for a man like him, darling. Cold, closed-off he’s hardly fit for you.”

I bit back a retort. In my first life, I had defended Richard endlessly. But now, I saw the truth in his words—not about Alexander, but about Richard himself. A man who only sees others as competition, not people.

“Perhaps I like cold men,” I said sweetly, just to watch him flinch.

Richard blinked, caught off guard. “You’re teasing me.”

“Am I?”

For a moment, his smile slipped, and I saw the steel beneath the charm the control he fought to maintain. “Elena, we should talk. Privately. There’s something important I want to discuss.”

I knew what that meant. Pressure. Persuasion. His relentless attempt to cage me again.

Not this time.

“Later,” I said, slipping free of his grip. “I need some air.”

Before he could protest, I glided away, leaving him seething behind me.

---

The Garden Encounter

The ballroom balcony opened into a quiet garden, lit with soft lanterns and the faint perfume of roses. I drew in a shaky breath, clutching the railing.

The night was cool, crisp. It should have calmed me. But my mind spun with questions.

How did Alexander Knight know?

Why did his words cut so close to my buried scars?

Was it instinct… or something more?

“You shouldn’t let him corner you.”

I startled, spinning to find Alexander leaning casually against a column, half-shadowed by moonlight.

“You follow me?” I demanded, pulse racing.

“Observation,” he corrected smoothly. “I told you. I don’t judge, I observe.”

My fists clenched at my sides. “And what have you observed about me, Mr. Knight?”

He stepped closer, each stride deliberate, until the space between us thinned, the air sharp with his presence.

“That you’re hiding something.” His voice was low, dangerous. “That the girl everyone thinks is naïve… isn’t naïve at all.”

My breath hitched.

He didn’t know. He couldn’t know. And yet, every word felt like a blade slicing too close to the truth.

“Maybe I’m simply wiser than I look,” I said, forcing calm.

His eyes glinted, unblinking. “Or maybe you’ve lived enough to know the cost of a wrong choice.”

I froze. The same phrasing. Again.

“You speak as if” I stopped myself, shaking my head. “No. You’re fishing.”

“Perhaps.” His lips curved faintly. “Or perhaps I already know the story you’re desperate to hide.”

---

The Cliff Between Us

For a long beat, silence stretched between us. My heart thundered, but I forced myself to meet his gaze.

“I don’t scare easily, Mr. Knight,” I said finally.

“Good,” he murmured, his voice brushing against me like velvet over steel. “Because fear won’t save you from what’s coming.”

The words sank deep, chilling me more than the night air.

“What’s coming?” I whispered.

His eyes flicked briefly back toward the ballroom, where Richard’s laugh carried faintly through the doors. Then back to me.

“You already know.”

Before I could demand answers, he turned, vanishing into the shadows of the garden, leaving me trembling with more questions than before.

---

I gripped the railing, the roses swaying in the cold night breeze.

Alexander Knight knew too much.

Richard Hale was tightening his grip.

And me?

I was running out of time to keep my secret safe.

Because if Alexander truly did know my past… then my second chance might already be unraveling.