From Broken Trophy To Unstoppable Queen

usband snarled, shoving me onto the

too busy cradling Alya, the twenty-two-y

ng his mistress in front of the city's elite while treating

teaching me a le

ds to be broken. When she hits rock bottom, she'll

my family diamonds. He stood by as she mocked my infe

e waited for the screaming

didn

e sketch of the nursery we had planne

am turn to ash in

ement, deleted my social media accounts,

ing a horse. He didn't reali

e world apart looking for me, I was already in

pte

sey

d left, the flames licking at the edges of t

e fire, there

husband, Bennett-the man who held New York's shipping lanes in a

s hand. He didn't che

lya. The twenty-two-year-old i

ennett snarled at me, his voice echoing off the pr

health.' But here he was, protecting a woman who had been in

the momen

morning. Before I was a

ays cold. I spent an hour in front of the mirror, donning the armor. Foundat

ly. That's what they call me. The

it's a high-end washing machine. I sell paintings for prices th

, Mrs. Callow

Fresh. She looked at me with eyes that we

The perfect smile. "Please make sure th

showed her how to greet the VIP collecto

t noon. He never co

even see me. His eyes went

bent over to pick it u

boss checking on an employee. It was t

fteen years ago, before the silence, before the '

turned while he checked his watch. "I'm bringing her t

my voice tight. "It

It's unbecoming. She's a

small. He made

didn't mentor he

of her back. He laughed at her

y glass so hard I thought it would shatter

He finally found

She's just a d

him aside near the Egyptian exh

ople are tal

adjusting his cufflinks. "Think about

ophagus, rubbing her stomach. She caught m

d over

u are doing?" I asked

" she said. "Bennett says w

e an em

uture," sh

idn't touch her. I swe

lailing her arms, and stumbled into a dis

nd. He didn't see me standi

er. I hit the floor hard. My h

d it. "You could h

ent. The elite of

king her frantically. He loo

" he ordered. "Ge

leg throbbed. M

oked at him. I saw the cru

und and walked out of the museum,

ng on the floor

we planned fifteen years ago. The

ike a

ch the crib turn to ash. I watch t

o the metal wastebasket and

dark. My f

eing the Go