Every moment after breakfast and Volkov's gleeful announcement of the new wedding date felt like an out-of-body experience. It was my hands that curled around Dmitry's. It was my lips that parted in a smile, and my voice that lifted high in a girlish giggle.

It was all mechanical. I was a doll that performed when you pressed a button, and if I chose the wrong word or movement, everything would fall apart. Between breaths, I reminded myself this was a game I'd played a hundred times, if never with such high stakes before.

"We thought to use the ballroom before, but now it will be too big," Leticia said, gesturing toward the room where the engagement party had been held the night before. The clicks of her heels on the tile floor were louder than gunshots, each strike making me flinch. "That leaves the chapel."

She flung open a set of French doors at the end of the hallway, blasting me with icy air. The woman didn't even have the decency to shiver. No doubt the temperature was conducive to her frigid soul, though every time she looked at me with judgmental eyes, I imagined spending her eternity somewhere far warmer than this.

The chapel she referred to set atop a hill behind Volkov's manor, and it was nothing like the rest of the house. At least, not from the outside. Small and white with stained glass windows and a steeple draped in glittering snow, it was picturesque. Perfect for postcards and holiday films. I loved and hated it all at once.

"It's quaint," Leticia said with a sneer that made it obvious the word was not a compliment. She fiddled with the ends of her hair and cut her eyes at me. "I think it will suit you, though."

It did. And like the perfect shade of red I refused to use, this felt a little too close to where I'd actually choose to get married. It's the only reason I was able to say, "I can't wait to see what you do to the place. I'm sure you'll bring it up to style."

She preened beneath the praise. "You won't even be able to recognize the place once I'm done."

That's precisely what I hoped for. Her phone rang, and she held up a manicured finger before stepping away to answer it, leaving me alone for the first time that day. I rubbed my arms to generate some warmth and debated to going back inside to escape the cold. But inside demons waited for me, and for a moment, I could pretend I was free.

Deciding to give Leticia some space to have her conversation and to make the most of the moment by myself, I let myself into the chapel. Marginally warmer in there, its timeless beauty stole my breath, and I mourned the loss of it already, knowing Leticia would hide it behind gaudy, needless decor.

Colorful streams of sunlight washed over polished pews and worn hardwood floors. Unlit red candles perched on wrought iron sconces attached to the slim wall space between the arched windows, and someone had spread fresh pine boughs on top of the window ledges. Running from wall to wall above my head were big cedar beams, and attached to each were iron chandeliers with candles that matched the ones on the wall.

I made my way down the center aisle, my broken heart no longer able to protect me with fantasies. All I could see when I closed my eyes was Dmitry waiting for me at the end, a victorious smile spreading across his pale face.

The first cry was so ragged and loud and inhuman, I didn't realize it came from me. A hot tear splashed against my cheek, and my knees gave out. But I didn't hit the floor.

Strong arms caught and pulled me against a warm chest. The harder I trembled, the tighter his hold became, an iron band stopping me from shattering. It was almost worse letting him hold me than it was going ahead and breaking because I knew once he let me go, I would still break—only this time it would be slowly, chipping away piece by piece until I was nothing but walking, brittle bones.

"Millie, shh." Lochlan turned me in his arms and swiped his thumb over my cheekbone, erasing a tear. "I've got you."

"You shouldn't be here. They're watching every move."

The thumb found my chin and forced my gaze upward. I stopped shaking almost immediately, sinking into the haven of his warm, assuring smile. God, he was beautiful. With dark lashes fanning over darker eyes and unblemished skin drawn smoothly over high cheekbones. I drank it all in and committed to memory.

"Don't." The smile fell. His hold on me tightened, and his expression became stern.

"Don't what?" I whispered.

"Don't look at me like this is the last time you'll ever see me."

"But it has to be." A shiver raced through me. "I won't risk you. They've already taken Marcus, and the moment they realize we're alone together, someone is going to be punished."

He cupped the back of my neck and threaded his fingers through the hair at the base of my scalp. An entirely different kind of shiver went through me.

"You underestimate me, Millie. Alex and I may be involuntary guests here, but we aren't without our resources. We have people searching for Marcus. If he's alive, we will find him."

"Lochlan—" It was too much to hope that he could cut the tether that held me here.

He put his thumb on top of my mouth to silence me. "No one saw me come in here because James hacked into the camera system, and that despicable woman planning this farce of a wedding is going to be preoccupied on the phone for some time."

Another cry broke free, and I threw my arms around his neck, crushing him to me. "I'm sorry. Sorry for the lies. Sorry for getting you into this mess. If we'd never come here—"

"Millie, stop." He pulled me roughly away from him, that stern expression firmly in place. "I think we both have a lot to apologize for, but the one thing I'll never be sorry about is meeting you."

"Y-you can't mean that."

"I do. And I'm not going to waste the time we have together rehashing our sins. The truth is, someone has been pulling the strings behind the scenes for a long time, and one way or another, this was going to play out. I'm just glad we're on the same team."

"God, me too," I whispered.

He pulled my head back by my hair and kissed me. I surrendered, sinking into him. Every shift of his mouth, every stroke of his tongue against mine sent heat racing through me, but it was more than a physical heat. It went beyond the bones and blood and found my heart. There would be no separating us now. No matter the distance, this man was a part of me.

"Okay," he breathed, holding my forehead against his. "If I don't stop, we're going to have a repeat of last night, and Alex will kill me if we don't accomplish anything with this meeting."

"I mean, I feel like we accomplished a lot last night."

"Millie," he groaned.

"Right."

"Now, listen carefully, because this is what we're going to do."