ome, powerful, and utterly devoted to me. Everyone said I
on from kindergarten. But I froze when I saw my hus
get ice cream?"
ust like family-walked up and kissed his cheek. Kameron wrapped an arm around
He had gotten her pregnant years ago, right after I c
saying he wanted me all to himself. It was all a lie. He already had an
adows of our home and heard
"I'll never let Hailey have a child. The
d and built a family with another woman, while I was lef
pte
a, was in a bind, he
ver and get Leo from kinderg
. "Anything for my
powerful, and utterly devoted to me. He showered me with gifts, attention, and a love so intense it
ieved
e sound of children's laughter filled the air. I spotted Leo
wasn'
g Leo's shoelace with a gentle, practiced hand. The gesture was
n stood up
rld st
meron. My
y smile on his face. It was the sa
ice cream?" Leo's s
dd
itched whine that drowned out everything else. My vision sw
a mistake. A mi
ul, with a confident smile. She placed a hand o
te boys have a goo
r close. The three of them stood there, framed by th
d, with his perfe
reak out across my skin. I couldn't breat
things. It wasn't h
rinkled when he smiled, the expensive watch on his wrist
recognized her to
friends, he'd sworn. He said she was practically fa
oce
joke. A cruel
wife he went home to? The woman
her woman? The fool
kid, and I was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. He' d
hurt you, Hailey," he
a boy had asked me to the prom, and Kameron had broken his arm. He' d come to me later,
hool trip, he had cut his own wrist, bleedi
hought I wasn't good enough for her son, for the Stephens name. But Kameron had defied her. H
voice thick with emotion on our wedd
, filled with every luxury imaginable, and locked me inside with his ob
d him with every
ur living room, laughing. He was chasing her, and when he caught her, he p
me, his fa
id, rushing after me as I ran from the
him. I moved out,
roof of his office building and threatening to jump if I didn't come back. The
ose to believe his lies because
life. This wasn' t a game or a dare. This was a deep,
who called
ed to be about
. He had gotten Carleen pregnant right after he begged me to come back.
r me. This was it. There w
as
ollably. I drove away from the kindergarten
d to di
ld. I logged into my bank account and transferred all the money Kam
house that now fe
the scent of roses. Candles flickered on the
e, a black velvet
ice a low, loving murmur. "A little some
ascade of diamonds that glittered under the s
wave of
furrowing with concern as he tried to put
from his touch.
ng around me. His embrace, which once felt like
mised to protect me, and he was the one who had hurt me more t
dn't s
oice flat and emotionless. I pulled away
ed with that familiar, possessive tende
back was to me, but I saw his expression shift in the reflection of the h
alcony to take the call,
numb despair. I crept back down the stai
the night was still, and
to bring him there.
pa
day! You need to be more carefu
faint, tinny sound of a woman's
"She won't find out. I'll never let Hailey have a child. The Stephens' fort
tilted o
ver let me
yearned to be a mother. And every time, he had p
want you all to mysel
was because he already had an heir. He didn'
ated doll to show off to the world, while hi
It was a meticulously crafted cage to keep me
asted blood, just to keep from screaming. I leaned against the wall, m
going to give his son everything, while I was left wi
othing