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The trial, thank god, is in the past But there are still horrors lurking in the world Things that could tear hi to force us apart His father, for one, who surely isn’t done trying to get a piece of Damien Or Sofia I can’t bla Da to rip us apart She’s locked away now, her past and the world having taken their own toll, and while Daular reports fro, I don’t think she will ever be well enough to hold tight to sanity in a world where Daether

And yet at the same time, I know that Dah what she did ca both of us He declined her request to coh he had sounded casual when he toldher away hurt hiered her, and I stifle a shiver, lad than I like to admit that she is far away, bound to her treatment by court order

As if that weren’t enough, there is also my mother, the paparazzi, ex-bosses, ex-lovers, the press, co world, and when you cast as long a shadow as Damien, you make a lot of enemies And Damien’s enemies are mine now, too

I rong in the dream, I realize The ocean wasn’t Damien The ocean was the world And the world is brutal

When Damien’s hand closes overone of the long scars on h I wince, both embarrassed and disturbed I do not cut anyhts turn dark and fear seeps into me

Yet here I a for that pain, barely even conscious of the need to find my center, and that simple fact scares me Because I do not understand the insecurity that has led me to touch that most horrible of souvenirs

I wait for Daently tracesback in Malibu”

I frown “What are you talking about?”

“I told you we didn’t need the ceremony That it was just a for”

I cock my head “We’re not one?”

He chuckles “About that, I was right on thethe ceremony”

“You were? How?”

“How ether and survived?” he asks, and I know right now that he understands my fears “How many times has that world tried to tear us apart? Your mother, Sofia, the past?”

I don’t answer, but it doesn’tme to

“Our wedding is our bond Our promise and our proof It’s a syht and that we’ll win Most of all, that we are one”

He spreads his fingers, his eyes locked on his own ring “A simple silver band,” he says “But it’s ets” He meets my eyes, and I a to be afraid of, sweetheart Not anymore”

I look down atdiamond solitaire “Maybe I should trade this in for titanium”