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For the first time in years, I begin to question my own decision. I fought to make her my wife. But can I actually keep her safe?

Or have I simply dragged another innocent person into my darkness? The questions refuse to stop.

My muscles are burning and my lungs are begging for air, but my mind remains just as loud as when I started.

Breathing heavily, I head toward the bathtub. If I can’t beat the thoughts out of my body, maybe I can freeze them.

I fill the oversized steel tub until it’s overflowing with ice. I lower myself into it. The shock steals the air from my lungs. The water is brutally cold.

Every muscle locks, every nerve screams. Slowly, I sink deeper until the freezing water reaches my neck. I close my eyes and force myself to breathe through it.

For a few precious moments, everything goes quiet. Then my phone rings. I open my eyes. The screen glows beside the tub. Maxim.

I reach for the phone with numb fingers and answer. “What?”

“Easy,” my brother says. “I heard what happened at the gala.”

There’s a brief pause. “You and Aurora alright?”

“I’m fine,” I reply. “Aurora is too.”

A long silence follows before he speaks again. “I also heard she threw herself in front of you.”

I close my eyes. “She did.”

“What the hell was she thinking?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question ever since.” I drag a hand over my wet face, still unable to make sense of it. “She saw the shooter before anyone else did. Instead of running, she shoved me down and put herself between me and the bullet.”

Maxim lets out a low whistle. “Jesus.”

“If I hadn’t reacted fast enough…” I shake my head. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Another second. That’s all it would have taken. Another second, and I would have watched my wife die because she chose to protect me.

Maxim is silent for a moment before speaking again. “She must really like you.”

I let out a humorless chuckle. “I doubt that. I switched brides on my engagement day,” I remind him. “She’s still angry about that. Half the time she wants to argue with me.”

“Then maybe she’s just that selfless.”

His words settle heavily in my mind. Maybe he’s right. Aurora has always put other people before herself. So, maybe it has nothing to do with me.

Maybe that’s simply who she is. The thought is somehow comforting and disappointing at the same time.

Maxim clears his throat. “Do you know who ordered the attack?”

“Not yet.”

I stare across the room at the heavy bag still swaying slightly from where I left it.

“My men are already working on it. Every camera near the venue is being pulled. We’re tracking vehicles, phone records, witnesses, everything. Someone was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to try killing me at a gala packed with hundreds of people.”

“Bold move,” Maxim mutters.

“Very.”

“They wanted to send a message.”