s barely noticed. She drove on autopilot, the familiar streets of th
ear friendship, all of it a lie. The sheer scale of the deception made her feel nauseous. Her mother's cheer
city, the skyline glittering coldly in the distance. She pulled
steady, chilling rain. The cool, damp air filled the car,
ing a million other lives that were, presumably, not imploding at this
, a strange new feeling began to surface. It
li
e perfect girlfriend. Free from the pressure to get married. Free from a m
er chest. She was done livi
ansion overlooking the Hudson Rive
hogany desk. The air in the study was thick with the
ron will he commanded his family, slapped a glossy portfolio ont
low and dangerous. It was not a request. "The merger with Sinc
e is not a business transaction. I
doesn't secure a dynasty. You think you have a choice in th
ne they'd been having for weeks, b
hed the phone from its cradle on his desk and ja
a clipped, professi
ry one of Andrew's accounts. Credit cards, bank accounts, trust fu
away,
ne wen
rned to ice. His fathe
aid, his voice dropping to a deadly wh
saw him only as a pawn in a corporate game. Any lingeri
word. He simply
em on the hall table. He took out his wallet, removed his driver's license, and placed the wa
past the worried face of his assistan
rtico, the heavens opened. A torrential downpour de
n with nothing but the clothes on his back. He started walking, a
. It was time to go home. To her new home. The small one-bedroom apartment she
ng up with the deluge. The rain was coming down in sheets n
that led back toward the downtown area. Her vi
suddenly stumbled out from the side
with his lighter, trying to shield a final,
in terror. Her foot sl
the car hydroplaning for a terrifying second before t
an came to a dead stop just
his lighter. The cigarette, his last small comfort, fell from
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