with a force that made them slam against the stoppers. The

k to the door, a phone pressed to his ear. He turned, a fl

the phone, his voice instantly softening. S

rdening into a mask of paternal disapproval. "Stel

t over the office-the mahogany desk she'd helped him choose, the abstract painting she'd picke

on' for my public humiliation," she

erstood. A transaction. A tantrum that could be soothe

etrieving a thick, elegant parchment envelope. H

lle's situation is delicate. We just need some time. This is an acceptance l

are paid. I've already arranged a beautiful apartment for you in Le

ggestion. It w

e was printed on it in perfect calligr

playing on his lips. He thought he had won

ound was shockingly loud in the silent office. She didn't stop there, tearing the two halves into quar

rous. "Are you insane? Do you have an

rupted, her voice low but carrying the weight of s

ust started speaking in a foreign language. "Can

her, reaching for her ar

him, her movemen

ating drone, "as soon as Isabelle is stabl

er your precious white lily has recovered, you

enlarged the photo, and sh

ce dripping with venom. "The kind that requires t

is eyes darted from the phone to her,

his composure finally cracking. "She wa

ne back. The last ember of warmth she might have ever

leave, the con

, fingers digging into her flesh wit

you are. You are a Beaumont. Without the Carlisle name, you are nothi

re was nothing. Only a vast, cold emptiness. He was right about one thing