n held on to the edge of the curtain, her fists wrapped tightly, as she looked out over the city below. Truths f

ex continue any further. She required answers. She wanted to confront the man who had

his expression closed, eyes rimmed with weariness and somet

" Evelyn said ge

ehind him, teeth gritted. "I

met him stare for stare.

You want the truth? You already know it, Evely

her anger and pain making her voice shake.

ling like a fire. "I'm trying my best to keep thi

" Her voice was trembling, but

e unmistakable sound of their teens, Jason and Karen, stopped just past

ating. Mom

all of preten

rd the silence from the hall.

her heart pounding. "We

me was broken. Not by tranquility, bu

o you want me to do, Evelyn? Stand there and receive your rage? Apo

silence all these years has been deafening. I begged you to

erce. "And you never sensed the loneliness beh

. "Lonely? Cheating is lone

d shut. The unmistakable thud o

w near. "Mom? Dad?" Her vo

forcing a smile she did not feel. "Go to your rooms

then nodded, back

the fight bleeding out of hi

usted but unblinking.

arble floor. "You want to fix this, Evelyn? Let me know how. Bec

ing though her chest ached. "We sta

et to dictate terms. You lost that

r quit. I was the one holding this family

kept this family afloat, paid the bills, carried on the bus

e? The nighttime alone? The lying?" Eve

ther, the tension charged with year

arsh reminder that the children were still p

ned. "This has nothing

ou promised to safeguard," Evelyn p

he distant hum of the city outside not concerned a

g room. The tension on their faces was unmistakable, eyes clo

ft but firm. "I know you two heard

you and Dad. Quarreling? Is

n't you say something? We're you

e mistakes, and those mistakes hurt the people they love most in the world. But

surface. "It doesn't feel that way. It

promise, I'll do everything I can to keep us together, to p

mother in return. "But w

n we deal with it together. Whatever it is, we

ld in motion, oblivious to the sh

through the floor-to-ceiling windows. But despite all the empire he kept at arm's length, h

t he barely even glanced at it. Contracts, appointments, dead

n's words and his children's accusatory silences. The secret

h Maya. Not to apologize, but to warn her. They had to be cautious.

blur, familiar city streets harsh

s hand shook a littl

darting across her face before sh

her phone vibrated with a signal, a

tated, eyes bulging wide as

al: Billionaire's Affair

side was alre