ark imperfection in the sterile, museum-like space. She had lived in the Blackwood manor for three years, but it had never be

ched her lips. Of course not. Yo

n Blackwood stepped inside, shrugging off his tailored coat with precise, economical movements

r echoed in her head

avernous living room. The clink of a heavy crystal tumbler was the only so

His expression was impassive, h

His tone was as flat and final as a l

hing left to bruise. She lifted her chin, meet

a lie. "I owed her. My family owed

Not a wife. A line item in

heek. She had to ask. She had to know. Her voice trembled.

o her cheap, damp jacket. It wasn't a look of consideration; it was

. "A successful one. You received the security you needed, and I

e finality of i

inful than a scream. "You're right. It was

woman who had walked into The Onyx Club was gone, drowned in

ckly suppressed. He had expected tears, pleadin

The papers are already drawn u

ed out a thick manila envelope, and tossed it onto the glass cof

hina. His entire demeanor shifted. The cold mask

back," he said

ng the bitterness wash through h

t. He was leaving. A three-year marr

nt is generous," he said, his voice once again cool a

guage he understood. The final

cked shut. S

umb. She slid out the documents. The legalese swam before her eyes until she

lt. A price ta

ght ball. The tears came again, hot and furious. But this time, she was

irl who had wasted three years of her

And then, slowly, something new began to form in th