Chapter 33 Torren Masarro , drunk , screaming outside his family's crumbling headquarters , clothes stained , blood on his knuckles , trying to fight the guards dragging him away from the locked front doors . " Let me in ! This is my family's - this is mine ! You can't- " The video cut out as he tripped on his own rage and slammed into the sidewalk . Three days later , I was discharged from the hospital . Reporters swarmed like crows the moment the doors opened , cameras flashing , microphones thrust forward like weapons . But I was ready . I stepped out slowly , dressed in black , chin held high , face unreadable . Ephraim was already waiting by the car , shielding me from the chaos , and as we walked past the press , they went dead silent - just watching . Click . Click . Click . The woman they left to die had walked out of the fire . Unscorched . We didn't speak much during the drive . But as we passed the shattered gates of Massaro HQ , I saw them - employees rioting , climbing the fence , breaking windows , setting fire to office chairs and banners bearing the family crest . And then I saw him . Torren . Shirt half - torn , face puffy from bruises and tears , watching the building collapse from across the street . He didn't see me in the car . But I saw him . I lowered the window slightly , just enough for the air to kiss my lips , and whispered one word to no one in particular . " Burn . " Ephraim didn't look away from the road . He just smiled faintly and said , " Already lit the match . " ** 5 The sea hummed softly in the distance , waves like whispers against the stone . I had never known peace could feel like this - warm sand under my feet , Ephraim's hand laced with mine , and the sun breaking open the sky in blushing gold . We had traded bloodstained towers and courtroom wars for something quieter . A villa on He Left Me for Dead . Now He Beas Me for Mercy 111 07 7 % 22:35 Sun , Aug 10 47 % the edge of the world , where no one screamed , and no one hunted us . Where I could finally breathe without flinching . My body had healed . But more than that - I had come back to life . He proposed when the sky was still painted in the soft blue of dreams . No audience . No spectacle . Just us , the surf , and the world cracking open . The ring shimmered like starlight - his mother's diamond , reset in a thin band of rose gold . " Marry me ," Ephraim said . His voice didn't shake . His eyes didn't waver . And I said yes . No hesitation . No ghosts . Only the man who had waited through every storm . He brought my hand to his lips , kissed it , and whispered : " No one takes you from me again . Not even death . " The wedding was small - intentionally . No gilded guest lists , no socialites , no strangers . Just those who had bled with us . Survived with us . A cliffside chapel , wind tangling in my veil , and the ocean roaring behind us like a final absolution . I walked down the aisle alone … head high , back straight . I didn't need a father to give me away . I had already given myself to survival . Fleur was crying , dabbing her eyes beside our father , the duke , who looked like he'd been waiting his whole life to see me smile like this . Ephraim's parents were there , proud , emotional . His mother had sewn a piece of her own wedding gown into mine . His best man - a retired general , sharp - eyed and gray - haired - had once led the raid that found me . He nodded at me as I passed , a silent salute . When it was time for our vows , Ephraim didn't read from paper . He looked straight at me . and spoke like no one else existed . " You survived every betrayal , " he said . " You were hurt , humiliated , hunted . But you stood back up . And now I will spend the rest of my life proving loyalty still exists . " My voice trembled when I answered , " And I will never again apologize for being powerful . " We kissed as fireworks bloomed behind us - silver bursts over the sea , over our story , over the graveyard of every name that tried to bury me . Chapter 33 2/4 98.5 % - 47 % X The night wore a cloak of black velvet , and we danced under the stars . No orchestra . Just an old gramophone and Ephraim humming the tune against my ear . I had never been so light in my life . I had never felt so whole . We didn't talk about Torren . Or Ruby . Or the Massaros . Their legacy was ash in the wind . The world had turned without them . And as the moon spilled across the waves , Ephraim pulled me closer , kissed my shoulder , and whispered , " You're home now , Therese . Finally. " ** TORREN'S POV I used to own this city . Every skyscraper was a notch in my belt , every trembling intern a reminder of my power . Now ? Now I'm just another ghost in the park . Unshaven . Filthy . A bottle of cheap whiskey for warmth , a bench for a bed . I tried to tell them . I screamed the truth . About the board . About the fucking betrayal . About how Therese turned everyone against me , how Ephraim was never just a bodyguard . No one listened . They stared at me like I was mad . Maybe I am . Or maybe this is just what justice looks like when it puts on Therese's face . The bank froze everything . Every cent . Even the accounts in Geneva I thought no one knew about . Blacklisted . Frozen out . Like I never existed . The so - called friends ? Rats on a sinking ship . Haven't returned a single call . Not even my goddamn assistant . The one who used to buy my suits and lie for me in court . Family ? I spat on them long before they had the chance to spit on me . Now they've vanished too . No one wants to be tied to Torren Massaro , the disgrace , the drunk , the devil who burned down his own empire with a smile . I hear the dogs before I see it . A billboard , gleaming bright above the traffic . There she is . Therese Lambert , arm in arm with Ephraim , both dressed in white . Her eyes sparkle like vengeance . His smirk dares anyone to try . Chapter 33 3/4 99.2 % 22:35 Sun , Aug 10 47 % D X New Hope Gala : A Night for the Forgotten Children . Charity . Of course . What better way to salt the wound than to save the world with my money ? I stand up , clutch the bottle by the neck . My hand's shaking . From the cold . From fury . From everything I should've said when she still looked at me like I mattered . I hurled the bottle at the billboard . It doesn't shatter . It bounces . Hits me square in the face . Blood drips from my lip . I laugh . It sounds like gravel and grief . A mangy mutt wanders by . Sniffs . Lifts a leg . Pisses on my shoe like I'm a piece of trash on the curb . I don't move . RA I just sit there , staring up at that perfect fucking photo , tears leaking down my face and into the cracks of my skin . " I'm sorry , Therese , " I whisper to no one . " I was supposed to protect you . I was supposed to love you better . " But it's too late for prayers . She's dancing in diamonds now . And I'm rotting in rags . END