Chapter 2: Parade and Promises

Half a month later, I returned to the capital with a handful of home soil tucked in my pocket.

Main Street was packed on both sides with crowds as far as I could see—kids on their parents’ shoulders, couples with Starbucks cups, students in college sweatshirts. Flags waved, rose petals rained down, and someone shouted my name. For a second, I almost believed I was loved again.

"Welcome home, Natalie! Welcome back to the capital!" Voices and camera flashes merged as local news vans idled at the curb, food trucks adding the scent of grilled onions to the air. Everyone had their phones out, documenting the parade. Soldiers straightened their backs, medals and boots gleaming in the sun—a Main Street parade for a girl who’d seen too much.

On the steps of City Hall, my father rushed forward, smoothing my hair, fussing over my temples as if he could erase the years with his hands.

Mrs. Shannon—now Governor Shannon—stood beside him in a sharp blue suit, every hair in place, her smile so polished it could have been on a campaign poster. The state’s political structure had shifted: now, she held the highest office, and every glance was calculated for the cameras.

Everyone said a daughter sent away for an arranged marriage was a sacrifice for the state.

Three years of prairie winds, and the rest of life would be glory and splendor. The words sounded hollow, but they echoed down the marble halls all the same.

I was still my father’s most beloved daughter, at least in public.

After the parade, my father beamed, basking in the victory.

He showered Caleb Price with praise—brilliant strategy, decisive command. Caleb’s name was everywhere: talk radio, Twitter trends, the news ticker outside City Hall. He was the city’s newest star.

From now on, Silver Hollow would never threaten us again.

"Caleb, you brought my daughter home. I’ll make you Governor."

Caleb knelt and put his hand over his heart, like he was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The cameras flashed, immortalizing the moment.

History loves the young. Caleb’s ambition, his talent, his image—he was the American Dream personified, a new legend in the making.

At twenty, Caleb Price became the talk of the city.

He was every girl’s dream—on magazine covers, trending on social media, whispered about at brunch tables.

But nobody in the streets or alleys knew the truth about us.