The day my fiance returned from deployment,he invited me to the Celebration galaheld in his honor, and before midnight I watched my younger half sister try to destroy his career, steal my future, and force him into a marriage he had never chosen.
Chapter 1
At the beginning of the evening, none of that seemed possible.
Major Adrian Prescott had been home less than twelve hours after fourteen months overseas. The homecoming gala was being held at the Prescott family estate outside Richmond, Virginia, in a ballroom that seemed almost too grand for ordinary people to breathe in comfortably. Crystal chandeliers filled the ceiling. White roses covered the tables. Retired officers, elected officials, business leaders, and old family friends had gathered to honor the man everyone called a hero.
To me, Adrian was simply the man I had waited for.
I had spent more than a year measuring time by letters, scheduled calls, and the small red marks I made on the calendar beside my bed. We had been engaged for six months when he deployed, and our wedding was planned for early fall. Every night he was gone, I slept with his last handwritten letter inside the drawer beside me.
My younger half sister, Delia, had begged to attend the gala.
“Please, Evelyn,” she had said two days earlier. “Everyone important in the state will be there. I might finally meet somebody.”
Delia was twenty-six, eight years younger than I was, beautiful in the delicate way that made strangers instinctively protect her. We shared a father but not a mother. Mine had died when I was nineteen. His second wife had spent the next decade reminding everyone that Delia had received less in life and therefore deserved more patience.
I had tried to be that patient.
So I brought her.
At dinner, Adrian’s mother, Eleanor Prescott, lifted her champagne glass and laughed.
“My stubborn son has finally returned home long enough to marry the woman he loves.”
Heat rushed into my face.
The table burst into applause.
I turned toward Adrian.
He was already looking at me.
The instant our eyes met, he lowered his head too quickly, lifted his glass, and nearly choked on the first swallow.
The officers around him laughed.
“Prescott survived mortar fire but can’t survive his own fiancee looking at him,” Lieutenant Owen Pike called.
Adrian glared at him while his ears turned red.
I laughed with everyone else.
Delia leaned close.
“You’re so lucky.”
Her voice was soft.
Almost wistful.
I smiled at her.
Then I saw where she was looking.
Not at me.
At Adrian.
Something unpleasant moved through my stomach.
I might have dismissed it if the world had not changed in that exact moment.
Three lines of golden light appeared in front of my eyes.
They hung in the air above the centerpiece as clearly as words written on glass.
Within one hour, Delia Langford will be found half-dressed beside Adrian Prescott.
The guests will believe they were discovered together.
Adrian will be pressured to marry Delia, accept a permanent overseas post, and never return home.
I stopped breathing.
The letters shimmered once.
Then disappeared.
For several seconds, I sat perfectly still.
Delia was beside me, smiling at something one of the older women had said. Adrian was across the room speaking with his commanding officer. The band continued playing near the terrace doors.
Nothing had changed.
And yet everything had.
“Delia,” I said quietly.
She turned.
“What?”
“What were you looking at?”
Color climbed her throat.
“Nothing.”
“You were staring at Adrian.”
Her lashes lowered.
“I was only thinking he looks very handsome in uniform.”
Before I could answer, Adrian appeared beside my chair.
His face tightened with concern.
“You’re pale.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sweating.”
He touched my forehead with the back of his hand.
The gesture was so ordinary, so tender, that fear rose inside me like water.
“I’m just warm.”
“Do you want to leave?”
“No. This is your night.”
He frowned.
“I don’t care about the gala if you’re sick.”
One of his fellow officers walked past.
“Prescott, you’re not even married yet and you’re already hovering.”
Several men laughed.
Adrian ignored them.
“Call me if you feel worse.”
“I will.”
He returned to the head table.
Delia watched him go.
This time I saw it clearly.
Longing.
Not innocent admiration.
Not a passing attraction.
Hunger.
I turned toward her.
“You told me you wanted to meet someone tonight.”
She gave a nervous laugh.
“I do.”
“There are plenty of unmarried men here. Senator Hale’s nephew is at the next table. Owen Pike is single. So is Marcus Reed.”
“Evelyn, stop.”
Her hand closed around my sleeve.
“I know my own heart.”
The words chilled me.
“Then who is in it?”
She looked down.
“It’s not time.”
Not time.
Yet.
I excused myself and walked into the garden corridor.
My assistant, Tessa Wynn, followed at a distance.
Tessa had worked for me for six years and possessed the rare gift of hearing what I meant before I finished saying it.
“Find Owen,” I whispered. “Tell him I need Adrian outside without making a scene.”
Ten minutes later, Adrian came around the stone pavilion at a fast walk.
“What happened?”
I grabbed his wrist.
“Listen to me carefully.”
His face changed immediately.
“What is it?”
“Tonight, you do exactly what I ask.”
He studied me.
Then nodded.
“Tell me.”
“Stay away from Delia.”
His eyebrows drew together.
“My sister?”
“Under every circumstance. Do not be alone with her. Don’t let her touch you. Don’t accept food or drinks from her.”
“Evelyn—”
“Second, no more alcohol.”
His expression became serious.
“Third, you do not go anywhere alone. Owen or Marcus stays with you.”
He closed his hand around mine.
“What has she done?”
“I don’t know yet.”
That was the truth.
I could not tell him about glowing words appearing in the air. I barely believed them myself.
“She has been watching you all night.”
“That’s all?”
“Do you trust me?”
The question stopped him.
His face softened.
“I trust you more than anyone alive.”
My throat tightened.
“Then please.”
“Whatever you ask.”
When we returned, Delia smiled sweetly.
“You were gone forever.”
I sat beside her.
“Actually, we’re leaving.”
Her smile vanished.
“What?”
“You look tired. We’ve both had a long day.”
Eleanor overheard.
“That’s sensible. This party will go on until dawn if the officers get their way.”
I reached for Delia’s arm.
At that exact moment, a server carrying a tray stumbled.
Red wine splashed across Delia’s pale yellow dress.
She screamed.
The stain spread from her waist to her knees.
“Oh my God.”
The server apologized repeatedly.
Delia looked close to tears.
“I can’t leave like this.”
My stomach clenched.
Too convenient.
Too precise.
I called Tessa over.
“Take Delia to the east guest suite. Help her change. My evening wrap is in the closet there.”
Tessa nodded.
I quietly summoned another staff member.
“Paige, wait outside that suite. Do not leave until Tessa returns.”
Twenty minutes passed.
No one returned.
The laughter in the ballroom sounded distant.
I stood.
Then a scream tore through the eastern wing.
Delia.
I ran.
Guests poured into the corridor behind me.
The guest-suite door stood open.
Delia was inside wearing only a white silk slip. One strap hung torn from her shoulder. Her hair was half undone.
And across the room stood Adrian.
His uniform jacket was open.
His face was gray with fury.
The room filled with horrified whispers.
Delia saw me.
“Evelyn!”
She stumbled forward, fell against me, and buried her face in my skirt.
“Help me.”
Her whole body shook.
“He told me to wait here. He said he had a message from you.”
She sobbed.
“Then he came in and started pulling at my clothes.”
Gasps erupted around us.
Adrian took one step forward.
“I never touched her.”
Delia cried harder.
“He attacked me.”
Eleanor Prescott went white.
“Adrian?”
“Mom, I walked into this room less than a minute ago. She was already dressed like this.”
A woman behind us whispered, “His jacket is open.”
Another answered, “If he compromised her, he has to make this right.”
“Marriage may be the only solution.”
“Better to keep the scandal between the families.”
I looked down at Delia.
Her face remained pressed against my knees.
But at the corner of her mouth, hidden from everyone except me, I saw the smallest smile.
The golden warning had been true.
And the trap had already closed.
