r. It was less about charity and more about matchmaking and power broker

mistress, appeared at my door. With her was her daughter,

d in simple, unassuming clothes, a stark contrast to my own tailored, powerful style

tant. "Molly has heard so much about the Hope

womanhood, looked at the floo

ily event would cause a scandal, that an illegitimate child had no place there. Andrew, of course, had used it as another exa

m, welcoming smile that se

s daughter. She is part of this family.

se, but she quickly masked it.

. "It's the le

onversations. I made sure Molly and Debra were seated at our table, a p

re Annabel sat, looking radiant. His attempts to catch her eye were consistently igno

e chaos

llowed by a

e grand ornamental pool i

pulling a sputtering, drenched young woman from the water. I

tunate fiancée from my past life. Daughter of a respectab

her feet, a shrill voice cu

child! What has

hed forward. She grabbed Nicole, who was shivering a

everyone! Her reputation is destroyed!

erfectly staged

the hero, earning a nod of approval from the powerful Senator Lester

ep in. To shut this down. To use my power to make this vulgar l

gaze. An