His Unwanted Wife Is Another Man's Treasure

ie

antiseptic and the rhythmic,

heavy heat. My head felt like

e were no flowers on the windowsill. No cheerful "Get Well Soon" balloons bobbing aga

-I hoped Marcus was just outside in the hallway. That he had co

r click

sn't

ed, his tie loosened, holding a leather briefcas

said. He didn't s

. My voice was shards

been Marcus's-and sat down. He studied the linoleum f

ng the darkness wash ov

u suffered a psychotic break. He claims you attacked Izzy in a fit of jealous rage and in

at, jagged and bitter. It hur

. it violates the Code. Even the old Dons are

he Code, Tom. I care

tack of documents. "I have everything prepared. The separation agreement. The asset d

My hand was terr

take the blame. Let him say I'm crazy. Let

ing. "Once you sign this, you lose

, signing my signature with a sharp, final

or bur

frantic energy into the sterile room. My mother's eyes

nd me, sobbing into my hair. "Oh god,

d the rail. "I will burn his house to the ground," he growled, his voic

signed papers to Tom. "We aren't going to

Italy. To the villa in Tuscany. I need to be somewhere whe

nodding fervently. "We sup

cuffs, masking his fury with cold pragmatism. "There is one last thing. The hando

im?" I asked, my

hide, he wins. You go there, you sign the ledger, and you wal

lated strike. White is for weddings. White i

stood on the raised platform, looking untouchable. Izzy was next to him,

ed by my parents, the r

the high slit in my dress. For a second, I saw something akin to guilt cra

as agony, but I didn't limp. I sign

ped the pen. His voice was a g

my back

to where my parents wai

crystal glass to toast the new partnership.

e world

O

violently beneath us. Glass shattered into a million dia

oke billowed in thick, choking c

me, hauling me under the

ay, my eyes watering. My ears

toward th

podium onto its side. Debr

someone

as on the groun

sn't look

ing a body w

shieldi

like a human cage, taking the brunt of the falling dust and glass. He wasn'

savin

years, the crushing weight in my chest vanished. I felt absolut

made hi

ly, I was free