The Unwanted Substitute: Watch Me Shine Now

ily?" Richard Sterling slapped a thin file onto the polished mahog

eather armchair, the amber liquid in his glass swirling untouched. His gaze was

in the air, col

pointed scowl. "What the hell does that mean? I didn't groom my son to be reckless. Four years, Julia

y winter-sky blue as the patriarch standing before h

and, watching his father's

ion. "The true Carlisle heiress. She's the one I'll be marrying

voice a low growl that demanded a son's absolute obedience. "You will

"Don't worry. She relies on me for ever

apartment that had been her golden cage for four years,

ife, casting a warm glow on the roasted chicken and the bottle of expensive wine sh

en counter. She smiled, think

n number. A sing

. Seraphina Carlisle, radiant in a breathtaking couture we

ngle line of text burne

nt to be. He never loved

h cracks. A sudden, violent nausea gripped her stomach. Her fingernails bit into her palms until crescent

andlelight now mocking her like a cruel joke. Four years. Giving up her promising acting career to avo

breathing. She took a trembling step back, struggling to process the agonizing truth, when the heavy soun

ble, the flickering candles, and then, the shatt

her. He didn't a

with ice. "Trying to pressure me into marriage is a

t ember of the woman who loved him bur

in about the text message.

ly calm. "Julian, in these four years, ha

He loosened his tie, a gesture of pure annoyance. "Don'

ngem

lowly pushed herself to her feet. The searing pain in her c

e face-now just a mask of

ctly formed shard of ice. "Then I su