standing in the marble entryway of the mansion, the heavy front door

iumphant little smirk on her face. She must have see

she asked, her voice dripping with

e closed door of Alexander's study. "If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else. Some o

ou? Let me tell you who you were, Olivia. You were a pathetic fool who begged him to stay. You starved yourself

. A phantom pain echoed through me, the ghost of a past se

" she spat. "A tem

And then, the most bizarre thing happened. Her expre

d her own

hoed in the

down the short flight of marble stairs leading to the sunken living

fast I couldn't

hind. I stumbled forward, my feet tangling, my arms windmilling. I fell, my h

and blinding. Through a haze of diz

past me, to Sophia, who was moaning and clu

knelt beside her, his voice full of panic

t even l

d sticky against my skin. And in that moment, watching him fuss over her, cradling he

or this man vanished. It evaporated into thin air,

finding me on the floor. His

do?" he roared. "I warned you!

riously. The pain in my head was immense, but my mind was sharpe

slappe

cheek was louder than Sophia's sl

eyes wide with shock. The servants, drawn b

ing with a rage that was entirely my o

et, holding onto the

he sudden silence. "I'm done. I'm done being your wife. I