My breath seized the moment the chandelier came crashing down.
It couldn’t have lasted more than a second, but time distorted stretching into an eternity as shards of crystal exploded across the marble floor like scattered stars. A gust of cold air brushed past my skin, and for one gut-wrenching moment, I feared I’d just witnessed a death. My gaze darted through the cloud of glittering dust until I spotted Gelsomina on the left of the staircase dazed, but miraculously alive.
Relief came like a gasp but it froze midway through my lungs.
Someone had been standing right beside her. And as the settling dust began to clear, the outline emerged. Tall. Composed. Impossibly untouched. It was him Gosto. He stood unmoving, his hand calmly brushing specks of plaster from his tailored suit. He look
