«  »He married the woman everyone called “the ugliest” daughter of a powerful family for money. But ON their wedding night, he found blood beneath her dress. She whispered, “My father did this. » »”

She looked terrified of her own father.

Later that night, at Pinecrest Estate, Rosalie discovered blood staining the back of her wedding dress. Refusing to let the physician Emmett had arranged for her examine her, she retreated into her bedroom and locked the door.

Manuel approached but didn’t attempt to force his way inside.

“I won’t enter unless you allow me to,” he said quietly through the door. “But please tell me if you’re hurt.”

For several moments, there was no answer.

Then the lock turned.

Rosalie opened the door just enough to let him see her.

The tiny key had pierced the fabric of her corset, leaving a cut against her skin. Yet when Manuel saw the marks on her exposed back, he stopped breathing for a moment.

The injury was only a small part of what he saw.

Faded bruises and scars circled her wrists. Old marks traced her ankles. Long, pale lines crossed her back, revealing years of suffering she had hidden beneath her clothes.