I nod. “Yeah, I’ve just been writing.”
I’m always writing. Since Kal left, the words just bleed from me.
Mateo rocks on his feet, bobbing his head. “Right. Find any inspiration tonight?”
Sighing, I close my notebook and shrug. “No, I’m still stuck. Something just isn’t clicking.”
“Well,” he says. “Don’t stay out here too long. Your dinner will get cold.”
As he walks away, I let out a soft sigh of relief. Who’d have thought the unpredictable heir to Bollente Media could be such a concerned fiancé.
Getting to my feet, I dust off the front of my dress, ignoring the pang that tears through my stomach at the movement. It always flares when I sit there for too long.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and pull the black rose from my pocket, sending my greatest wish to the universe on a silent prayer.
I don’t hear anyone else approach. Don’t feel the hand cloth wrap around my mouth and nose until it’s too late, and everything fades to black.
And then, like every other time before, I wake up from the nightmare.
***