By the next morning, the news was everywhere.

Roman Blackwood was missing. The wedding was cancelled. The city’s most eligible bachelor had vanished a day before saying “I do.”

Serena’s name was dragged along with the story, tagged and mentioned endlessly as if she were part of the spectacle.

Her phone wouldn’t stop vibrating.

She didn’t bother checking it. She already knew what she would see—headlines, comments, strangers asking questions they had no right to ask. Pity mixed with mockery. Curiosity dressed up as concern. She let the phone buzz until it went silent.

A short laugh slipped out of her, dry and bitter.

She had really believed this time...