lked on marble flo
ubbed them o
r father was alive. But the light no longer warmed her soul-it only cast sharp re
pmother, descending the stairs in heels that clicked like a countdown to doom. Her tone
ing a strand of hair behi
death six years ago had been the end of her
girl in rags. Her once-glamorous life reduced to hand-me-downs,
er baggy clothes and frizzy buns. No one noticed he
down, Ell
fre
fas
l
-only sometim
-
er moonlight. Velvet curtains, golden plates, and en
ht's
Black
Manhattan's colde
pmother's l
to get Liam to agree to this dinner. Now, Clara and Ivy fluttered down the stairs in designer gowns, the
watched from th
ble. U
d the front do
ain and gripping his side. Blood t
gas
ushing forward before h
gray eyes met hers. Mys
uttered, his voice hoarse
slid it around her shoulders, and helped him to
ody was warm. And under the blood and bruises
hidden from the rest of the house. She cleaned his wound with shaking ha
quietly, staring at her
whispered. "Ju
y. "No one would've hel
ed away,
ng," he said. "Don't t
no
osed his eyes, trusting h
moment, some
read tied their
onaire
gotten Ci
that their lives wo