Bought By The Cold Billionaire Husband

d into the silenc

gital clock on the nightstand glowed 2:00 AM in harsh red lines. The ringing didn't sto

on the cracked screen. The caller ID flash

pressing the cold glas

ust the flat, hard tone of a man who bought what he w

roat dry. "Kash, it's

he cut her off. "The marriage agreement

kles turned white. The plastic creaked under t

for the sound of his steady breathing. "You took the mone

rying to keep her voice from sha

ered his voice. "You have until the en

ne wen

and landed on the mattress with a soft thud. She dropped

the open doorway. A thick stack of papers sat there, illuminated by the

ld against the worn floorboards. She walked ove

ustries - Pro

a stick up his ass. He drove a Ford sedan. He lived in a nice apartment uptown.

like she was a thie

hat ordinary Ford, looking at her with eyes full of suspicion. The prenup he had handed her was thicker than most

o alimony. No claims

pty room. He was just a project director, but he

again. A video me

sted face of her niece, Daisy. The little girl was prop

voice so weak it was barely a brea

ashes, tracking down her cheeks. She pressed a hand o

's life. The surgery, the hospital stay, the aftercare. It

own the aisle to a man who despised her. But she had never actually thought she would have to

, a sharp buzz th

hoving the prenup under a magazine. She took a deep bre

stood in the hallway, holding a brown

door. "Jodie? What

, kicking the door shut with her foot. "Late-nig

lowing her friend into the tin

ners of pad thai and spring rolls. She popped the cap off a

e beer, the bitter liquid coo

ing roll halfway t

iage." The word tasted like ash in

oam sloshed over the rim. "That son of a bitch! He t

quietly, staring at the condensati

apartment. "You did it to save her life, not to beco

vina cut in, her voice h

er and pity. "You're not actually going to do i

"If I breach the contract, he can demand the money

nto a tight hug. "I'll help you. I'll get a second

ng her face in her friend's shoulder. "But I'll figure

ssion skeptical. "How? The m

beer again, her jaw set. "I didn't surv

d drinking beer. The tension slowly eased as the alcohol kicked in. Jod

es half-closed. "Especially the ones I

em up in dive bars," Davina said,

yone?" Jodie groaned. "I'm too tired

later, watching her stumble down the hallway

hand without

of the apartment rushed back in, heavier than before. Th

. The neon signs of bodegas and all-night diners painted the street

e Balanc

chest, crushing the air from her lungs.

back at her from the dark glass. She had t

pered to the empty room. "