hind a hollow, trembling exhaustion. Jodi walked back into the apartment she had inhabited for fiv

to the walk-in closet and retrieved t

bags. They were part of the uniform, props for a role she would no longer play. She packed only her own clothes, th

er came the next morning-not a phone call, b

ce is conditional upon your full cooperation during this transition period. You will be r

ea. It was a deliberate, calculated cruelty. He wanted her to hand over t

a one-wo

re

dure anythin

a bone-deep weariness. She blamed it on stress, on the emotional whiplash of the

nd. She had been tracking the thirty-day countdown. H

ugh her exhaustion. Her period. It was la

reful. Armand's private physician managed her contraceptio

severe case of food poisoning. She had been violently ill for two days. The doctor had warned her that

could

a wild, almost frantic energy propelling her forward. She did not go to the corner pharmacy. S

d up three different brands of

athroom, the one with the cold marble floors. The plastic

life. She paced the bathroom, her heart ham

k. A small digital window. Inside

caped her. It was a mis

st, her movements clumsy. A

gital. Two stark, p

as she fumbled with the third

was the sam

was sitting on the floor, three plastic stic

gna

ild, at the very moment she had fin

t joke the univers

heir. A possession. The ultimate chain to bind her to him forever. He might even marry

must ne

t tilted off its axis, and she was utterly, terribly alone. The phone on the vanity remained silent. There was no one to call,