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as the only sound in the
tark, perfect white against the dark wood of the table. Three
oor opened
d the arched doorway. He wore the same custom suit he'd left in this morning, the dark gra
did, not until he was in his stud
y was di
eeing her, and stopped at the glass coffee table. A blac
r a green stem. A tremor started in her fingers, a
The air in her lungs felt thin, sharp. Three year
old and hard as the metal clasp on
der. The divorce papers. Sh
ck?" The question was q
, a flicker of annoyanc
his tone clipped. "I don'
out a small, bitter laugh that she quickly swallowed. S
I'll
d see it in the slight widening of his eyes; he had
flection a pale ghost on its polished
eady, "half the market value of the Sterling estate and one p
jacket and pulled out another, thinner document. "That w
"This is the new agreement. Ten million
s of her life, three years she could have spent building her own empire. A cold fist clenched a
ured for him every evening. She raised it to her lips, the rim col
fiant movement. A flicker of somethi
ent back to their bedr
slow, unconscious journey to her flat stomach. She pressed her palm against the silk of her slip, a gesture she
om door sl
is tall body blocking the only exit. He lo
he growled, grabbing her from beh
ried to pull away. "Donova
e slurred, his voice a low command
and demanding. A wave of nausea
ds were torn from her thr
the cold marble of the vanity, the impact knocking the air
, but she refused to let them fall. S
er body went limp, a so
ements became rougher, more brutal, a
ightening his disheveled clothes. In an instan
e morning," he said, his voice flat. He
g to her skin. She stared up at the ornate crystal chandelier, its light fr
er chest. Her shoulders began to shake, si
her eyes was gone. The grief was gone. In its place was som
a
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