9th proposa

against my ribs. For three years, I had loved this man, and for three years, he had kept me at a dist

a tall, imposing silhouette against the

my voice trembling s

and final. It cut through the

99 rejections. Any sane person would have given up. But I was an actress, and I believed in the pow

e ring box on the coffee table, a

It was a low, pained murmur coming from Ethan' s study. The door was sli

through t

his knuckles white. He was speaking to it, his voice thick with an emotion I had never

his voice hoarse. "You're

k. Wife? He had never even called me

tinued, his voice breaking, "my bo

gesture so tender and full of passion it made my sto

e woman who held the he

he door open a little wider, ju

od ran

ith a bright, almost predatory smil

was

daughter. His niece. The g

hree years of my life to, the man I had begged to marry me 99 times, was in love with his own

d back, my hand flying to my mouth as I fought the urge to vomit righ

wide with panic as he saw me. He quickly slammed the photograph

ce dangerously low. "Wh

The bile rose in my throat, and I couldn't hold it back any longer. I turned and ran for the bathroom,

nd me. He didn't come to comfort

s grip like iron. He

ace a mask of cold fury. "S

fingers digging into my skin. I was wea

y emotion. "She has a rare blood type. She needs a transfu

ecret that made our entire relationship a sham, and his first thought was not for me, not for my pain

red, the word

rip on my arm, pulling me so close I

oice," he snarled. "

have the strength. All I could feel was the icy certainty that my life, as I knew it, was over. I wasn't his g