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AURELIA

One Year Later

I t feels like I’m on the lam.

The moment I step out of the chauffeured car in the dead of night, my uncle takes my arm in a harsh grip and ushers me across the tarmac as if I’m an errant child. Cassie, my newest assistant in a long line of failures, silently follows like a meek little mouse, the tail of her blue and purple striped scarf flowing in the wind behind her.

Wrestling my arm free once we’re on board my private plane, I drunkenly stumble over to the closest reclining seat and give my uncle a mocking smile once I slump into the cushy leather.

“Whisking me away and out of sight,” I taunt. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think, Uncle Mars?”

Cassie keeps close, but my security team takes their seats far away from me. The only face among them I recognize is Ty Westbrook, and what a handsome face it is. He’s the only one of my bodyguards who hasn’t been fired by my uncle for selling my secrets or has quit because I’m kind of a bitch.

“Aurelia, goddammit,” my uncle swears at me. “You leaked a sex tape of yourself and then called your co-host a tone-deaf sheep!”

“One, I didn’t leak it. I was hacked ,” I correct. The lie works for other celebrities. Why not me? “Two, my face wasn’t in it, so it could have been anyone. And spare me the lecture, Uncle Mars. Tania needed to learn why taking things that don’t belong to her and crossing me is bad for her health. Need I remind you she stole my song? And even you have to admit that Tania sounds like a sheep when she sings. Baaaa-baaaaa! I wish I could be like Aurelia. Baaaa-baaaaa. See? Spot on.”

I hear a cough behind me and know it’s Tyler smothering his laugh, but I don’t dare look across the aisle with my uncle watching. One whiff that my relationship with the former soldier transcends professional indifference and I’ll never see him again.

My uncle considers the idea of me having a meaningful relationship with anyone beyond my accountant, voice coach, and the stage completely frivolous and forbidden.

“It was on live TV, Aurelia. Your outburst was seen by millions.”

My smile feels more like a sneer when I cock my head. “Would it have been better if I’d treated her horribly where no one could see, Uncle Marston?”

The question hits close to home and ruffles his old feathers like I knew it would. Knowing my uncle won’t answer for his sins, I snap my fingers, and after a flurry of confusion, a champagne flute is hesitantly placed in my hand by the flight attendant.

“What’s your name?” I ask after she makes the mistake of making eye contact with me. I’ve perfected the art of appearing poised even when I’m lit up like a Christmas tree. My elbow is braced on my crossed legs as I sip my champagne.

“Susan.”

“Susan. What an awful name for a child. What were your parents thinking?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Well, you should ask them.”

“They’re dead.”

“Susan, do you think I should have to beg the help for a refreshment?”

“Oh.” The flight attendant’s cheeks redden. “No. I’m so sorry. It’s just that your uncle—”

Already knowing what she’s going to say—that my uncle called ahead and ordered them not to serve me any alcohol—I feel my nostrils flare. “You don’t work for him,” I tell my uncle’s spy. She’s one of many, but I hate her no less. “You work for me, Susan.”

“My apologies, ma’am.”

“Ma’am? You’re older than me.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Aurelia, leave the stewardess alone and let her get back to work,” my uncle orders.

My smile is sharp when I regard my uncle. “I believe they’re called flight attendants now, Uncle.”

Susan apologizes before excusing herself.

The back of my neck prickles, and I feel like I’m under a microscope, but that’s nothing new. The only difference is the way this particular gaze makes me squirm. Tyler’s attention feels like he’s trying to pierce my thorny exterior and see into my soul. He wants to believe that I’m really good deep down, and that’s why I know we’ll never work.

“This bratty behavior cannot go on,” Uncle Marston lectures. “My God, I’d hoped your acting out was a phase, but you seem to get more intolerable by the day.”

“I appreciate that, Uncle Mars. Really, I do. I was taught by the best.”

His almond-shaped eyes narrow immediately. They remind me of my father’s, and though I loved him, I’m glad I took after my mother in that regard. My eyes are upturned like hers, so it’s one less thing that connects me to the man before me.

“What did you say?”

Knowing just how far I can push my uncle and come out unscathed, I throw in the towel and look away. “I said I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“Good. You’ve already been locked out of your social media accounts to give you time to think and reflect .” I roll my eyes, which my uncle chooses to ignore. “Cassie will let me know if there is anything you need. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Wait.” I sit up, something like panic spearing my chest.

I don’t necessarily enjoy my uncle’s company, but he’s never been more than a stone’s throw away, managing every aspect of my life. It’s been that way for thirteen years—my entire adult life and teenage years.

I wouldn’t even know what to do with my independence now if I had it, which is why I haven’t fought harder to take back my life. I’ve gotten too comfortable—too used to being controlled—and now I’m terrified of living without it.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m staying behind to clean up your mess, Aurelia. Again .”

“Why?” I brush invisible dust from the white ruffled apron on my dress. I’m still wearing the sexy milkmaid costume from the studio. It has a dark green frilly pleated skirt, brown corset with yellow daffodil embroidery, and a white ruffled sweetheart neckline.

The dress is over the top if you ask me, but no one did, and that’s the problem. Joanna and my new stylist thought dressing theatrically on the show would keep the attention on me instead of Tania, the other judges, and even the contestants.

Because everything is always about me, me, me.

“They’ll get over it,” I say dismissively.

“Don’t be so sure of that.”

If only. “But why Canada?” I ask instead of voicing the intrusive thought. “Why so far north? At this time of year? Can’t I go to Ibiza or Cabo? I don’t like the cold, Uncle Mars. You know that.”

“You need to lay low and not in some place where you’ll be easily recognized or followed. I invested in some property near a town called Hearth. A ranch with a view of the mountains. It’s remote, but you’ll be comfortable.”

“You mean, I invested in property. It’s my money, Uncle Mars.” I prissily sip my champagne as I watch him over the rim of the glass. My uncle hates being reminded that he’s at my mercy and not the other way around.

“Stay inside where no one can spot you, and you won’t notice the cold,” he snaps. It’s my uncle’s only response before he storms off the plane.

We take off shortly after, and the moment we reach cruising altitude, I stand, ignoring Cassie’s startled squeak as I make my way to the bedroom at the back of the plane.

I puke my guts out inside the tiny bathroom and then brush my teeth as I stare at my reflection. This is probably the part where I’m expected to feel sorry for myself and say I don’t recognize my own reflection.

Sorry.

I’m on a first-name basis with the bitch in the mirror. We braid each other’s hair and support each other’s delusions. The only thing out of place is this god-awful costume.

The peasant-style dress is meant to remind everyone that I’m America’s treasure—sweet, gentle, angelic, and beloved.

I want to tear it off me.

Unfortunately, there’s a knock on the stateroom door before I can.

There’s only one person on the plane who has the lack of self-preservation to disturb me.

“Come in, Tyler.”

The door opens, and my most devoted bodyguard steps inside before quietly closing it behind him.

It’s unnecessary.

The plane is too small to be discreet. Obviously, whatever is on Ty’s mind is worth the risk of my uncle finding out. He has spies everywhere.

“You okay?” Tyler steps into the bathroom and wraps his strong arms around my waist from behind. He pulls me into him, and I let him out of pity since Tyler fancies himself in love with me.

The problem is that he fell for the “me” that doesn’t exist. He’s infatuated with the charming facade my uncle dressed up and put on a stage for the label, lawyers, agents, and media to carve out pieces of until there was nothing left. Tyler covets a shell, not the person lost inside of it.

“I’m fine.”

“You say that,” he responds while I avoid his gaze, “but you haven’t been yourself.”

Finally, I meet his stare in the mirror, and I wish I hadn’t. The adoration in his brown eyes is more than I can stand.

Tyler’s handsome with smooth brown skin, expressive eyes, high fade, and a disconnected goatee. He’s what you’d call good stock. He’s ex-Army with a lieutenant general for a father. Tyler joined straight out of high school, completing two tours of duty before being medically discharged and becoming a bodyguard to a screwed-up singer.

It would be easy to let him believe I’m the girl he thinks I am.

But I can’t.

I nudge Tyler away with my elbow, and he follows me into the bedroom. I can feel him hovering, ready to step in, as I stumble to the side of the bed and collapse in a cloud of wool and satin.

“Tell me what’s going on with you,” he gently demands.

Rolling onto my side, I give him the flirty smile I’ve practiced a thousand times. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”

“Cut it out, Aurelia.”

“What?”

“This.” He gestures to me as if that explains everything. “Stop pretending you don’t care what people think of you.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you trying so hard to make everyone hate you?”

I playfully roll my eyes. “News flash. They already do. The entire world wants me dead. Haven’t you heard? I’m public enemy number one.”

“And so you think being a bitch will make you care less?”

I roll onto my back because I don’t want to face him anymore. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Tyler. The Aurelia you and everyone else are so head over heels for is really my middle-aged uncle using me to cosplay, so unless you’re planning to ask him out, I think you should start sailing new waters.” I let my head roll to the side, and I smile gently to soften the blow while he glares daggers at me. “You should ask Cassie out. She’s nice.”

And pretty.

I don’t know if she’s smart or not since I don’t waste time talking to her except to tell her when to fetch. Another month or two, and she’ll quit like all the others.

“Okay, I don’t know where the fuck that came from, but for your information, Cassie is engaged. She’s getting married to her boyfriend next month. Don’t you talk to her? Ever?”

“About what?”

“Look, when I said you haven’t been yourself, I wasn’t referring to that Disney princess act. I’m talking about this one. The Aurelia who thinks she needs to be vicious to protect herself.”

Tyler shakes his head, and though I can feel his disappointment, I don’t sense any judgment. It wouldn’t matter if he did judge me. I’m not supposed to care.

“That isn’t you either, Aurelia. You’re hurt, pissed, and feeling betrayed because when the dust fell, you realized there was never really anyone in your corner. It probably feels easier to take the punishment when you feel you deserve it, so you lash out.” I keep my gaze firmly fixed on the ceiling while Tyler tries his best to wring out all my truths. “If that’s true, you’re still allowing others to decide who you are.”

The silence between us is deafening as I fight to swallow past the knot in my throat. “What if—”

The plane starts violently shaking before I can ask him a question I don’t know if I want the answer to.

What if this is me? Could Tyler live with it? Could he love a monster?

I wouldn’t blame him if the answer is no. I’m not sure I would either.

My eyes flare when the plane’s trembling seems to go on forever. “What is that?”

There’s a worried pinch to his brow even as he says, “It’s just turbulence. It will be over soon.”

I squeeze my eyes closed and wait for it to stop. “I hate flying,” I grumble when the plane finally settles.

Tyler checks his watch and sighs. “It’s been a long day. We have a few hours until we reach Hearth. You should get some sleep.”

I hum. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” he says before I can ask if he wants to join me.

Once Tyler’s gone, I stare at the door he disappeared through for a while. When he doesn’t return, I sigh my disappointment and stand from the bed to remove my boots and costume.

I’m too tired to look for my bonnet in the luggage my housekeeper packed for me, so I keep the wide green and white gingham ribbon tied around my head. It’s the only thing protecting my riot of golden 4a curls from total chaos.

Leaving my clothes on the floor, I climb back on the bed and collapse with a sigh.

I’m asleep before I even remember closing my eyes.

I’m jostled awake by turbulence.

My head is already turned toward the small oval window when I open my eyes, so I can see it’s light out.

No.

Not light.

White.

There’s a wall of fog so thick the sun can never hope to pierce it.

At first, I think it’s the altitude—that we’re soaring among stubborn clouds that refuse to part for us—but the fog seems sentient. Angry and vengeful. It knocks the plane around, growing more violent the longer we stay. After a while, it doesn’t feel like mere turbulence.

Tyler bursts through the bedroom door without knocking, and I don’t even think to be embarrassed about my lack of clothing.

Something is very, very wrong.

“What is it?” I groggily ask as I sit up. “What’s happening?”

“Get dressed and come to the front,” he orders. He makes a good attempt at sounding calm, but his voice is edged with fear and panic.

“Tyler, what is happening?” I demand again.

The plane suddenly dips, and for a long, heart-stopping moment, I think we’re dropping out of the sky. My stomach reacts so forcibly that it feels like it touches my spine.

Tyler curses when I’m thrown to the side and tumble off the bed. He rushes over to help me from the floor and only lets go when he’s sure I’m steady on my feet.

“We crossed paths with a rogue storm, and it’s bad,” he explains. “The captain is trying to make an emergency landing.”

“In that?” I shriek, throwing an arm toward the window. “How? I can’t see anything.”

“That’s why you need—” A violent updraft cuts him off. We both lose our balance when we’re thrown off our feet—me backward and Tyler forward. When he lands on me, his weight steals my breath. “Get out front!” he yells once the plane rights itself, and he’s back on his feet.

Ty’s gone before I can beg him not to leave me, so I do what he says, swiping my dress from the floor. Tyler had left the door open, so I can see the rest of the plane as I struggle to get into my dress.

It’s chaos in the cabin.

Cassie is screaming, at least two of my guards are vomiting, and I can hear alarms blaring from the open cockpit.

Tyler stumbles to the front of the plane to check on Cassie, who blacks out by the time he reaches her. Shoving his hand underneath the scarf still around her neck, he checks her pulse. His face is tight when he turns around, but there’s no trace of devastation.

She’s still alive, at least.

There’s resolve in Tyler’s eyes as he fights his way back to me, but it doesn’t make me feel safer.

This is bad.

The plane pitches to the side while I try to tug on one of my boots. I lose sight of Tyler as I roll and collide with the wall. The impact is hard enough to stun me, but I shake it off and crawl the short distance to rescue my other boot from under the bed.

I don’t even know why I bother if I’m going to die. I guess because all I can think about even now is the headlines and what they’ll say when they find my body.

It’s pitiful.

“Aurelia!” Tyler yells from the cabin, demanding I light a fire under my ass.

I carefully regain my feet and stumble out of the stateroom. The cabin is loud. The engines are screaming from the exertion it takes to keep us in the air. Through the windows, I can see more white. I can see the wind swirling around, and it takes me a second longer to realize it’s…snow.

A blizzard?

We flew into a freaking blizzard?

Tyler manages to make his way to the rear of the plane again and holds out a hand for me.

I reach for his hand, and it feels like some invisible force keeps us apart. I stretch my arm until it hurts, but no matter how hard I try, my fingers never do more than graze his.

Finally, Ty’s fingers curl around mine, and he grits his teeth from the strength it takes to tug me to him. The moment I fall into his arms, I hear a terrible screech and then the sound of metal scraping like it’s tearing itself apart.

Oh, God.

“Tyler!” I scream to warn him.

“You need to get strapped in now!” He helps me into the nearest seat, and I scramble to buckle the belt. There’s only a sofa across the aisle perpendicular to me, so it costs Ty precious seconds to reach the nearest empty seat closer to the front of the plane.

I want to close my eyes as if that will dull the terrifying roar throughout the cabin, but I can’t—not until I’m sure Tyler is safe.

He feels a million miles away when he finally takes his seat. I don’t see if he gets his seat belt on because something hits the plane in a rapid barrage.

It sounds like the plane is being shot at.

Hail. It’s what’s pelting the plane .

The lights in the cabin flicker off, and more alarms start blaring all around me.

Someone starts praying.

I hear the captain speaking over the intercom. He sounds calm, but he’s no Sully. I’m not convinced.

Why does it feel more like we’re crashing rather than landing?

I look out the window, but I can’t see anything except that damn white. And I can’t hear the engines anymore.

The earsplitting scraping sound returns, followed by a boom and then an unbearable rush of cold air. I don’t need to look behind me to know that the tail is gone.

The praying guard starts chanting louder, and I’m tempted to join him. But for what? My life? My salvation? Right now, they seem to be one and the same, so I start praying for an open field.

God isn’t that kind.

When I turn my head toward the window for relief from the wind, the white finally fades just enough for my heart to sink when I see where we are.

It’s not an open field or anything close to resembling a landing strip.

It’s a massive snow-covered peak, and we’re heading straight for it.