n who was now a complicated, dangerous part of her secret. She simply finished buttoning her blouse,

th Julian felt like a fever dream, completely disconnected from the cold, hard re

r stepmother, Diana, were waiting for them in the formal living room. Their faces were

," Edward said, h

intment. Edward stood behind his massive desk, the picture of paternal authority. Di

gan, his voice low and seething. "You almost destr

e. "What I've done?" she shot back, her voice trembling with suppressed

high. "I'm calling off the en

you have to be practical. These things happen in our world. Men hav

ad entered their lives through her own calcul

ent vanished, replaced by cold, hard pragmatism. He opened a dr

it," he c

op-tier long-term care facility. Medical reports detailing a co

mo

ess, was her one true vulnerability. Her care was astronomically expensive, a

n. "We can no longer afford this level of care. But the Sterlings have made it clear..

l blackmail so cruel and effective it stole the air from her

knew her father. She k

he frail hand that had squeezed hers. That was her weak point. Her

an aching, hollow void. There was no

ng breath. When she opened them again, the f

at. "That she will have the best doctors, the b

exchanged a look

now that he had won. "Just be a good girl, fix this me

own home. She went to her old bedroom, a space that felt like it bel

me. The thought of speaking to him, of pretending,

eal was

calm tone, and pressed the call button. He answered on

loe

arter, we need to t

tely named a restaurant in the city. He begged her

voice a perfect imitation of

inning. But this time, she wasn't just fighting for a loveless marriage. She