The Vault (Leigh)

I never believed in fate. That was something for the dreamers, the romantics, not someone as practical and pragmatic as I. Fate had nothing to do with me walking in on my soon-to-be husband in a compromising position with his secretary. Fate had nothing to do with me hopping on a plane to Rome, effectively standing up my former fiance on our wedding day. And fate certainly had nothing to do with the handsome stranger sitting across the aisle from me, one who would open my mind and heart to things I never thought possible.  

Once upon a time, a mysterious, passionate man opened my eyes to things I'd been blind to, my heart to feelings I never thought imaginable, my mind to endless possibilities. Once upon a time, I experienced something I didn't think existed in real life. Once upon a time, I learned how to fly. Little did I know it was with broken wings. Ones that were irreparable after a lifetime of being caged.   

My life has always been a series of carefully constructed roads. Always the passenger, never the driver. Except with Dante. He makes me feel like a princess, a goddess, a queen.... His queen. We met in the clouds. We bared our souls in the clouds. We fell in love in the clouds. But is our love deep enough to survive the return to earth?

He found me in the dark when I thought all hope was lost. He swore he loved me when I didn't think anyone ever would. He vowed to keep the shadows haunting me at bay when I felt like I was drowning in my past. But in doing so, he also kept the truth from me.