ff her heels and poured herself a stiff glas

ew your marriage was a secret, but I never knew it was this mes

-deprecating smile touching her lips. "Because three years ago,

, sitting dow

er mother suffered a massive cerebellar hemorrhage and was put in the ICU. The medical bi

e Carlisle famil

him three months to live. The superstitious Carlisle elders wanted a "lucky brid

y to pay for my mother's ICU bills,"

edding night, a furious, dying Julian had fired every single maid a

as the memories flooded back. "I cleaned his massive house on my hands and knees to meet his psychotic hygiene standards. I sta

f hell with her own bare hands. She h

ally warm up to me," Kathryn closed her eyes, a tear finally escaping. "But the moment he w

hryn fiercely. "He's a beast. He's

sively. The vulnerability was gone, replaced by a razor-sharp determination. "My mother pa

bag, pulled out her lap

id, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she opened a hidde

screen and gasped. It

ted to MIT's fast-track Ph.D. program at nineteen, a legend in the field of computational

genius

at the Carl

The scene at the restaurant had left him enraged. How dare she s

er to come running down the stair

mansion was

re, lying perfectly centered on the

CE AG

ched it up. She had already signed it.

s anger. He pulled out his phone and dialed her n

have dialed ca