LOGINThat night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
I sat on my couch, my legs pulled up to my chest, as I scrolled through headline after headline about the bombing and Andrew’s latest poll numbers: ANDREW DUBOIS AND GIRLFRIEND SURVIVE HUMAN ANTI-INTEGRATION TERRORIST ATTACK ANDREW DUBOIS’S POLL NUMBERS SOAR FOLLOWING SURVIVAL OF HUMAN TERRORIST A
“But look at how often this has happened already. Am I…am I just not supposed to be alive?” Andrew’s eyes widened in surprise. After staring at me for a moment, he placed a hand on either side of my face and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that I did not know had been streaming down my cheek
I stood for a moment, aghast. Then I shook myself from my shock and ran after Andrew. I found him in the hallway and soon caught up to him. “Andrew!” I called after him. He did not slow down. “Dammit, Andrew, stop and talk to me.” He came to a halt, his shoulders stiff, but he kept his back to me.
“Are you worried about your own safety under Andrew Dubois’s protection? Crystal’s?” “I don’t worry because I have both my father and Bob looking out for me,” Lisa said. “As for Crystal, I do not approve of their relationship, but I worry for her safety, if the deaths of my father’s previous Lunas







