ands ached on th

ng light barely cut

stretched before him, th

e y

rried Isabella Vance,

feet with talk of passion and a shared dream, away from a "modestly wealth

ieved ev

till

heir daughter

y hours a da

was a luxury now, squeeze

ive, knew thei

bring him crushe

y, her small voice serious.

ould clench

She mostly stayed in their sm

the hope of a better fu

Lily's fif

a fancy charity

p, hot animal costumes – he a be

hildren's e

for a small cupcake and

in through a service entrance:

. Just

tal chandeliers, champagne, people in clot

aff members talking

s is making a big

e, right? She'

de the bear head

Iz

he sa

podium, under

is wife, stunning in a g

ed like

a handsome man in a tai

ed once, a long time ag

ncer's vo

-Croft Children's Wing, a project Mr. Julian Croft

se thu

of the bear costume stick

iress to Van

fe, their lif

a young woman with a cli

im under the bear head

haracters. He's over there." She pointed. "If you dance for him

very dollar for

bunny ears drooping s

mumbled, his

ed towards Julian Croft and a small b

dressed, a miniatur

umsy dance, the kind they p

, amused smile on Izzy's lips. J

Darling, look at these. Leo w

an and Lily. "Entertain

er eyes cool, a flicker

said, her voice clear and carrying. "

n chu

ket, pulled out a crumpled handful of dollar

" Leo giggled, a s

fli

g. He felt something

d peeled off the costume and dri

, smelling of expensiv

aid, his voice flat

prised. She simply remov

, Et

ella Vance.

a

ulian

nd. A very d

me your family disowned yo

ed, her expressi

e said he had to marry someone else

as calm, al

back, everything I had would be his. My fortune, my resou

the words hitting him

me? L

e an interlude. I needed someone to see me through a rough

taining our little apartment charade, of c

of five wasted years, five years of b

foundation of his li

t day, she'd told him her family had cut her off completely. He'd held h

he endless driving, the exhau

meant n

small bed in the nex

towards

," Lily had said to him just last week, her

n. Now, they burned wi

away, heading to their

zy," Ethan said, the

urned back, an

an. You wouldn't dare.

fident smile. "And besi

watched her disapp

ucked her in. He k

e mumbled,

, sweetie

the morning. This had to e

Then he looked at the closed

to the empty living room.