He Called Me by Another Woman's Name

n became the fiancée of the billionaire Kirk Knapp, and

fessed her feeli

d her entire existence-the clothes she wore, the food s

e dripping with contempt. "A transaction. An investmen

lookalike. He would panic over a tiny scratch on Jaida's arm, yet dismissed the c

he transaction was over. She walk

t' he'd so casually dismissed was the

pte

the nightstand. Holl

. The screen glow

, tracing the cracks in t

was tomorrow. The f

e bedroom that felt more like a cage than a home. It was the las

ed for the phone,

el

Kirk's voice was

he be

arm. Get the first-aid kit and b

ne wen

e years ago. Kirk had become her guardian, and though she called him 'Uncle,' their age gap was barely a decade. She was the real cen

r back were a deep purple, hidden beneath her silk pajamas. A gift from him tw

y stocked. Antiseptics, bandages, salves for every conce

not

, dabbing at a tiny red mark on Jaida's forearm with a silk han

rk," she whimpered, her eye

voice was a low, soothing murmur Holl

ly standing there with t

" he snapped. "Do you w

lked forward and opened th

nuscule scratch with painstaking care. "I'm calling Dr

it scar? I have that

oice softening again. "I won't le

"What are you staring at? Go make Jaida some w

nd walked towa

hope to climb. A mutual acquaintance had made the introduction. Kirk Knapp, a man of immense wealth, needed a fiancée to satisfy the terms of h

to Jaida-the same dark hair, the same slender frame. "You'll do," he had said, his offer brutally simple. He would cover

he was a savior. He had paid for the initial cons

th them. And the hope had curd

She'd told him she was grateful, that she was starting to see hi

very expense was itemized. Her mother's hospital bills. The clothes on her back. T

ing with contempt. "A transaction. An investment. Don't ever conf

r clothes, but of her dignity. He w

warm milk to t

g a look of triumphant malice a

e was on the phone with his doc

er room. She sat on

ouldn'

er mo

physical anchor, h

f an application form for a prestigious biomedical research program in another state. She had fi

skill, a way out that

st a little longer. Un

ulling the cover

ould

ha