Chapter 3

The platform erupted into chaos as Blair's body hit the water with a splash that seemed to echo off the canyon walls. People rushed to the railing, pointing and shouting as Trey dove in after her without a moment's hesitation. I stood frozen, my body refusing to move as I watched my fiancé—the man who had promised to love only me—risk his life for the woman who had helped him betray me.

"Oh my God, did you see that?" A woman beside me clutched her husband's arm. "That poor girl fell in!"

"And her boyfriend just jumped right in after her!" someone else added, their voice tinged with admiration.

I wanted to correct them, to scream that he wasn't her boyfriend, he was my fiancé. But the words died in my throat as I stumbled backward, away from the crowd that was gathering at the railing. My heel caught on an uneven plank, and suddenly I was falling, my arms flailing uselessly as I tried to catch myself.

My head struck something hard and sharp—a jutting rock at the edge of the platform—and pain exploded through my skull. Warm wetness trickled down my temple as I lay there, dazed and forgotten while everyone's attention remained fixed on the "heroic rescue" happening in the river below.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?"

The voice came from somewhere above me, deep and steady. I blinked, trying to focus through the pain. A man I'd never seen before knelt beside me, his brow furrowed with concern. He wasn't from our train—his weathered face and practical outdoor clothing marked him as a local.

"I'm..." I started, but couldn't find the words to finish. What was I? Alright? Bleeding? Betrayed?

"You're bleeding pretty bad," he said, his voice gentle as he carefully examined the side of my head. "That's going to need stitches."

Down by the river, I could hear cheering. Turning my head slightly—which sent fresh waves of pain radiating from my temple—I saw Trey pulling Blair from the water, both of them drenched and dramatically clinging to each other as passengers from the train helped them up the embankment. Blair was coughing theatrically, leaning heavily against Trey's chest while he patted her back. Neither of them even glanced in my direction.

"Can you stand?" the stranger asked, offering his hand. His eyes were the color of the Colorado sky, clear and direct, with none of the deception I'd become so blind to in Trey's.

I nodded and immediately regretted it as dizziness washed over me. He seemed to understand without words, carefully helping me to my feet with strong, steady hands.

"I'm Deacon Campbell," he said, supporting most of my weight as we moved away from the crowd. "My truck's just up the hill. I can take you to the clinic in town."

"Scarlet," I managed, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. "Scarlet Cole."

"You're losing a lot of blood, Scarlet Cole," he said, his arm firm around my waist as he guided me toward a dusty pickup truck parked on a dirt track above the viewing platform. "Head wounds always bleed like the devil."

I glanced back once more at the scene by the river. Trey was now standing with his arm around Blair's shoulders, accepting congratulations from the other passengers. Someone had wrapped a blanket around them both. They looked like the perfect couple—the hero and the damsel he'd saved. Neither of them had even noticed I was gone.

"They're not even looking for me," I whispered, the reality of my situation crashing down on me with more force than my physical fall.

Deacon's eyes followed my gaze, his expression hardening slightly as he took in the scene. "Some people only see what's right in front of them," he said quietly, helping me into the passenger seat of his truck. "And some people only see what they want to see."

As he drove me away from the overlook, the mountains blurred through my tears—or maybe that was just the concussion. The throbbing in my head matched the ache in my chest, both wounds bleeding in their own way.

The local clinic was a small building nestled among pine trees, its wooden sign weathered but welcoming. Deacon didn't just drop me off—he came inside, explaining the situation to a middle-aged woman in scrubs who introduced herself as Dr. Sarah Mitchell.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she said kindly, leading me to an examination room while Deacon waited in the small lobby.

As she cleaned the wound and prepared to stitch it, something inside me broke. The tears came suddenly and violently, my whole body shaking with sobs that I couldn't control.

"It's alright," Dr. Mitchell soothed, her hands steady as she worked. "Head injuries can make emotions run high."

"It's not that," I choked out, and then, to my own surprise, I found myself telling her everything—about finding Trey and Blair together, about the confrontation at the overlook, about being forgotten while they performed their dramatic rescue scene.

She listened without judgment, her eyes kind but knowing. When Deacon knocked softly and entered with a cup of tea, I realized he'd heard most of my story through the thin door.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, embarrassed by my breakdown in front of strangers.

"Don't be," Deacon said, his voice low and certain as he handed me the steaming cup. "Some wounds can't be stitched up as easily as others."

In that moment, surrounded by the compassion of strangers while the people I'd trusted most in the world had abandoned me, I felt something shift inside me—a tiny spark of strength igniting in the darkness of betrayal.