rk's office was stale, thick with the

e front of my simple cream dress, a dress I

ike a god sculpted from ambition, his handsome face

om the clerk calling our names, f

s more than pap

eft a clause in his will, a detail I'd known my whole life. Upon my marriage, my sp

sed to think it was a safeguard, a way to ensure m

murmured, his hand find

age, it was about him. A tiny, persistent doubt had b

h tired eyes, looked u

rd, Pres' s phone buzzed,

anced at the screen, and his face went pale

his," he said, al

s off, his back to m

u serious? Se

ared at it, then his head snapped up, h

he stammered, shoving hi

talking about? We' re ne

ergency. A real crisis." He looked around wildl

cocktail waitress from that club he frequented, a

already moving, pushing past a cou

n't lo

ust

done

e

mes again, her voice fl

ss suddenly feeling like a costume

d in my purse. A

out, my ha

in a bad way. That photo she

t, almost i

id she' s okay with you being a sister-wife, you know? Or maybe you could be a surrogate

Sister-wife. Surro

yes. The audacity, the cru

manipulative, h

d him, or the idea of him, shattered. In its

the power, the control. He' d use

me. He thought I

as w

ngly steady, scrolle

an

, grounded. He' d always been there, a quiet constant in my often-chaotic lif

ssed

d on the s

wrong? You sou

id of the tears that threatened. "I n

es wanted Sterling Global through me? He' d underestimated me.