Finding Peace, Not Love

Tonight was my engagement gala to Arthur, the renowned art dealer who was my mentor, my patron, and my entire world.

He was giving a speech when he suddenly abandoned me on stage, in front of hundreds of guests, to rush to the side of his beautiful, widowed sister-in-law, Isabella.

The public humiliation was crushing, but the true horror came later.

I found them together, their long-standing affair undeniable, and in the ensuing confrontation, I fell down a flight of stairs and cracked my head open.

At the hospital, I was bleeding out and in desperate need of a blood transfusion.