few days. Plans were not going well, not with the firm, and certainly not with Liana. It was as if everything was sl
istraction. I glanced at the screen
inning the phone betwe
hrough, tight and strained. "We've
ed of ice water. "Tell me about it," I drawled, trying to sound as un
. "Private business retreat for tech CEOs. Invitation-only. No p
forged over scotch and thin smiles. It was elite, exclusive and the perfect place for Liana to make her next move. I should have
ed, my voice taut with suspicion,
urity. Her name is definitely on the list. She's starting so
y knuckles cracked. There was a storm br
e low, cutting through the a
arned. "She'll have top security.
avors, bribe someone or better still use our connect
hen Russel's reluctant com
nched around the phone, alre
never find out? She was playing with fire, and it was t
s everything I expected
ial men and women mingled through the grand ballroom, their conversations low but intense, deals being made w
longest while plotting behind the back of everyone. Precisely the kind
usive guest list. I made the cut by title and reputation alone,
background, letting my eyes scan the crowd. Where are y
en I s
ls. She was laughing at something, her posture relaxed, her smile shiny but cold. She was wearing a bl
glint of steel behind her dark eyes. She wasn't the woman who used to walk
y belly. She believed she had won. She b
toni
aking down into a shapeless hum. I walked softly, stalking. I didn't call out to her, not yet. I waited until
y shadow followimg behi
ould feel me there, I called her n
ia
For a moment, she didn't stir.
l; calm, impassive, not so much as a flicker of surprise i
hough I caught the subtle set of her
tance between us in two strides. I could feel
get you? You're using the knowledge you got when we were still
k I used you?" she whispered, her voice cutting through the space
ld you. Anything. Then one day you disappeared and returned with your own little king
eaking through my words. I des
d in all honestly, you actually used me. You wanted someone beautiful on your arm. Someone to smile nicely at your functions
led as if she had stripped away all the lies th
d in a raspy voice, but the words so
nic. You used me as a trinket. A trophy wife. I
s. I wanted to protest. I want
coul
e she
uth shut until the moment was right. To build myself in silence. And when the moment was right
se and sparking like a live wire. "What's your plan, Liana?" I questioned, my voice rough
her eyes. "No," she said, each word calculated
left me
ment. We just stood there, t
finally, my voice low. "You do
er eyes never leaving mine. "A man who's afraid to l
g. I'd thought she was the same woman who'd once
else. Something stronge
I asked, more curious
ey," she breathed. "You'll see it. Your life's gonna play out l
, then turned and walked away with a co
hallway, my hands shaking with a
longer a thor
y worst n
t frigh
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