o expensive for his age. Annika signed for it on Harlow's front stoop, reco

ng, the sharp slant she'd learned to rea

ni

nged you, and perhaps I have. But this silence, this refusal

gh I prefer we speak privately first. There are matters regarding the separation that require

s, imperfectly, as all men must. If you can find it in yourself to remember the years before this

ednesday, 2 PM. Please con

ty attempting to manage her emotional excess. There was no mention of Haven, of the pregnancy, of the paternity test Elean

Carter Whitmore with a brief note: Ple

rk's attorney has been... aggressive in preliminary communications. They're seeking to estab

ass. "I want him to say it, Mr. Whitmore. I want him to explain, in front of witness

t legally

n in the microwave door-pale, determined, someone she was still learning to recognize.

lients before and lost. "Wednesday, 2 PM. My conference

eas

, surrounded by journals and muttering at his

lled on the key

the edge of his desk, suddenly exhausted. "He wants

d the laptop, turned to face her. "Annika, you don't owe him an audi

heavy and cold in her palm. "But I owe myself the chance to see him clearly. One last

nd pressed it into her hand. "My attorney. Just in case Whitmore isn't aggressive enough. Clark's team wi

ay the unst

, unemotional." Harlow's smile was thin. "I

carefully-navy trousers, white silk blouse, the pearl studs Eleanor had given her for her engagement. She looked like a p

rence of expensive legal work. Ethan was already there when she arrived, seated at the far end of the table wi

e collar of his shirt slightly loose on a neck that had lost weight. She calmly observed that he had lost weight, the strain evid

nd extended, as if this were a bu

ite chair, sat, arranged her pap

rooms. He spoke of his mistakes, his failures of communication, his determination to do better. He spoke of Haven as "a responsibilit

motional connection between them that might warrant reconciliation. Only of arrangements

ruption. When he finished, sh

, surprise flickeri

us. Of the marriage you are asking me to salvage." She leaned forward, her voice steady as a held scalpel. "So let me speak plainly. I know about the paternity test. I know

y leaned toward him, whispering

told

humiliation indefinitely." Annika stood, her chair scraping against the carpet. "I will not confirm your meeting, Ethan. I will not negotiate the timing of announcements o

Ethan stood too, r

them. Every time you chose them." She gathered her papers, her coat, her dignity. "Mr. Whitmore, please procee

king against the marble floor, each st

racked and raw in a way she'd never hea

ed, the man she'd believed could be her shelter from the world's demands. He looked sma

understanding partner, the woman who would wait while you sav

nd her, the sound final