e root cellar do

ng and painfu

silhouetted

r lesson, Sarah?" he

She was weak, filthy

ake your silence a

gnored it, pushing herse

stantly tainted by cynicism. His f

essed in clothes that felt alien on h

he powder

. Marcus was distracted by a busin

ully sprinkled a tiny amount

erself in the reflection of the polished

leeting, replaced by a cold

on of an end, any

, ended his call

ght you a new diamond necklace. A

o a velvet bo

liation through materi

plete misunderstanding

and simply didn't care about her a

n his words and his action

at the box,

*Can diamonds erase

dramatic, Sarah. It

er freedom, but any lingering illu

as a constant

nounced they were attending

d a bad

cript warehouse, the atmo

she s

l stage, dressed in a sc

was describing

, confused. What

event; it was someth

ctacle was dee

med, "the lovely Miss Tiffany Hayes! A weekend of her... u

expensive suits, murmur

ah's skin. The objectificat

racticed smile on her face, pla

another of Ti

een standing beside Sarah,

aid, his voice cutt

ped. The auct

Mr. Marc

stage, took Tiffany's

was swift, his

t look a

om was palpable. He w

herself into Marcus's a

They made me do it! They said

l outburst was perfectly

doorway, a cold knot of

ing herself as a victim to further

ulnerability

Tiffany, h

oulder at Sarah, his eyes f

Someone who wants to embarr

e was a

out who. They w

ked Sarah. He would blame

of future conflict

ning, it was

phone, headlines on

te Wife: The Shocki

deeply embarrassing photos

ill-fitting, handed-down clothes, the

the event that had stolen her vo

ysical blow, a profound

these photos at an exclusive city club, "to highlight the auth

y, orchestrated by him as retaliation for the