His Unwanted Wife Is Another Man's Treasure

ie

't have c

rd the Thorne estate as if possessed, pulled by a gravity I hated but couldn't fight.

cret g

cient roses that Marcus used to call our sanctuary. It was the o

and slipped through the rusted iron gate. Th

moss. I wanted to see the old oak tree. The one

he had said, his hands covered

final hedge an

e alread

er head resting on his shoulder. He was pointing at something in the distance, a soft smile on hi

She stood up and walked over to the

manicured fing

w what she was pointing at. A jagged, broken branch hung li

't what held

s the

ined her. He pulled a

old bark,

wood. Against the spot where, thr

e. Sc

uiet like nails on a chalkbo

the fresh wound in the wood. "Put M

" Marcus

ting beneath my feet. Forever was a lie. It was just a word men

to the legs were chipped. And on the seat, where our names used t

d era

my veins. It wasn't the cold num

I bent down and grabbed a jagg

ked to the bench and

ac

a gunshot in t

d Izzy sp

wanted to pulverize the memory. I wa

ook a step forwar

e rock in my hand, then at my face, an

"The ex-wife is throwing a tantrum. Honey, try not to brea

athing was ragged. My hand was blee

my voice shaking, "just lik

ed into her pocket and pulled ou

t was the Thorne family crest. The

ore," she whispered. "You're just a guest h

was physical.

k. I didn't think

oved

wanted her away from me. I wa

a root, and she fell backward into the heav

groaned, cracked, a

Izzy s

eam caught my ankle. I fell hard, the breath knocked out of me. The trellis

. I gasped, trying

he grass, the top of the trellis resting li

the dust settled. He sp

each

t. He saw me pinned. He saw the

oked

ped ove

alk past me. He

He lifted the light section of wood off Izzy and sc

shing my shin, watching my husband check his

followed was loud

," I wh

at me. He kept

as ice. "Attacking her? In my home? We are don

d the house, carrying her

eft in

with a grunt of effort. I stood up, testing

everyth

dn't look back. I didn't

pped o

he closure