Everyone looked at me like I was a lunatic. Like I had lost my mind over the whole issue. I could see the shift in the eyes of the onlookers—pity mixed with judgment—and I felt the sting of shame crawl up my spine. I should not have screamed. I should not have let myself fall so easily into my enemy’s trap.

He smiled, and I smiled, slowly turning back to face the cameras. But my eyes wandered again, scanning the crowd until they landed on her—Marylyn. Her face was twisted into a sneer, thick with scorn. Still, wasn’t it my time to smile now? If her entire plan had been...