Chapter 8

By the time Vivienne came back to herself, Seraphina was gone.

Her heart was pounding. She looked at her hands. Looked at the churning black water below. Panic rose up and almost swallowed her.

Then she pulled it together.

No witnesses. No problem.

Even if someone did find out — a few tears, an accident, Damien would protect her. Exactly like he had when Seraphina's mother was injured. Damien would be on her side.

This would be no different.

"Seraphina. If you wanted to stay alive, you shouldn't have gotten in my way."

"Damien is mine. He can only be mine."

She exhaled and turned back toward the interior deck.

Then a figure pressed up behind her.

Damien walked up fast and stopped in front of her — and his heart clenched.

He frowned hard. His gaze snapped to the dark water behind her, and something in his chest went cold, like he had just lost the thing that mattered most in the world without knowing how —

"Is Sera here yet?" he asked.

"No." Vivienne slid up beside him and wrapped her hand around his wrist. "I've been waiting. She hasn't come. I think she's sulking. Doesn't want to come to my birthday."

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

It was an offhand comment, calibrated perfectly to make you feel sorry for her.

The unease in his chest eased a little. Not gone. Just quieter.

"I've spoiled her too much. If she doesn't come, she doesn't come. Start the party."

Vivienne's smile widened.

"As long as you're here, nothing else matters."

They walked in. A three-tier cake rolled out.

Her friends pushed it forward. The room sang.

"My birthday wish is — to spend forever with Damien."

She blew out the candles, looking at him full of expectation.

"Wait — is that an actual proposal?"

"Damien, if she's confessing, are you going to file now?"

"True love always loses to the childhood sweetheart — what did I tell you?"

The jokes kept coming. Damien's brow tightened. He looked up, scanning for Seraphina on reflex.

She wasn't there.

His face cooled. He could feel the edges of something bad.

He met Vivienne's eager eyes and took a quiet step back.

"Don't make that kind of joke. I'm married. Sera would be upset if she heard."

"Vivienne and I grew up together. She helped me when I was a kid. I will always remember that. But that is all we are. Don't joke about this again."

The air went brittle. Vivienne's smile froze on her face. No one spoke.

Damien didn't seem to care. After giving his gift, he sat off to the side, nursing a drink without interest.

His eyes drifted to the entrance, over and over, even though he knew she wasn't coming.

He kept opening his phone. Nothing new.

The last messages were still from last month, and the taste was bitter in his mouth.

"Sera, the surgery wasn't anyone's fault. It's behind us. Vivienne's going to stay with us for a while. Please be patient."

"Sera, you really crossed a line this time. Vivienne is setting up your therapy. Cooperate with the doctor. I'll pick you up in a week."

"Sera, Vivienne is—"

For a month, she had not sent him one message.

The only person talking in that chat was him. None of it had been answered.

And every message he'd sent had been about Vivienne.

Seraphina had treated him like a stranger. She hadn't even bothered with punctuation.

Something hot and restless settled in his chest. Without meaning to, he started drinking faster. One after another.

His head started to spin.

He made his excuses and retreated to the yacht's master suite. Crashed.