Everyone treats me differently now.
Like I'm this broken doll with glue sealing the cracks.
It's okay. I can handle their pitying stares.
But not his.
Not Nicoli's.

I hate the way he looks at me like I'm this fragile thing he's too afraid to touch.
I want him to love me the way he did before this nightmare started.
He needs to realize that I'm stronger than he thinks.

I'm not a victim, and I'm more than a survivor. I'm a fighter.
And while Nicoli and his brothers hunt the man responsible, I'm plotting my own revenge.
This isn't a Dark Sovereign war. It's mine.

I didn't come out on the other side of this as a weaker woman. I came out a stronger queen. And Nicoli needs to see that.
He has to stop blaming himself. I don't.
After all, he did save me in the end...didn't he?

Or is the worse still to come?