DAISY

The morning of the press conference arrived all too quickly, and the heavy weight in my chest made it almost impossible to breathe.

I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the dressing room, staring at my reflection. I looked pale, my skin almost translucent, and the dark circles under my eyes showed exactly how many nights I had stayed up crying.

I wore a simple, high-necked dark blue dress that Brian had ordered for me, but nothing could hide the absolute exhaustion written all over my face.

My thoughts kept circling back to everything that had happened over the last few days. The kidnapping, the forced wedding...