After the Divorce, He Warned Off Every Man Who Looked at Her

w where she was going, only that she had to move. Each step on the hard pavement of

it half

ark, slid to a stop beside her.

rdt g

ip like a steel manacle. The warmth of his hand th

e said, her voice

sistance against his superior strength. He was a force of nature, a storm she could no longer

suffocating. He didn't look at her. He stared s

mably waiting. He dragged her through the foyer and into his study.

a leather Chesterfield sofa. The room smelled of old books, whiskey, an

played the part. I gave up a partnership track at the firm. I smiled at your family's condescending

"And you bring that... that woman into our home? With her pregnant be

n the polished surface of his desk. The posture wa

g. "I don't want the money. I don't want the trust shares. Yo

d the desk with a speed that was terrifying, closing the distance between them in two long s

melling faintly of coffee and something bitter, like resentment. "This marriage is a lif

divorce because of Brittni," he sneered, his

m, bewildered. "What

ivorce becaus

the air, nonsens

e corner and picked up the sheet of paper that had been waiting in the tray

ered to the flo

manifest for a flight from Zurich to JFK that had land

en she

on, C

sick right there on the expensive Persian rug. The name was a key, unlocking a room in her mind she kept permanen

e saw her pale face, the way her breath hi

a fool. You think I didn't know you were waiting for him? The second h

e were lovers? The idea was so grotesque, so profoundly wrong, it was almost

was the villain, the cheating wife, and he was the wronged husband. It explained everything. The coldness. The

, the realization dawning on

d, the word s

oice breaking. "Why keep me

omething unreadable-confusion, maybe even pain-flashed in

acing rumble. "You schemed your way into this family. You used me.

. She pushed past him, her only thought to get out of th

nd pressing her back against the hard wood of the door. His

shing against her ear. The intim

d promise, "you will be Mrs. Gerhardt Goodwin. You will smile for the camera

about Brittni?" she spat. "Are you going to keep her

lenge to his authority, pushed him over the edge. With a roar of fr

. The sound of the impact

stared into his furious eyes, her ow

ck came at

usekeeper, filtered through the wood. "

s perfectly styled hair, messing it up. He straightened his tie,

the door, he paused a

e warned. "And don't even t

lling the door shut

under her. She landed on the floor amidst the fallen b

e Em

ke a snake. She wasn't just trap

oming. And he w