Not Her: The Shadow Bride's Great Escape

a

as a series of golden

silence, filled with servants who obeye

be the pe

the social

ity dinners with

me every night, sometimes unt

nse when he

ng, his passion in th

worshipped-physi

there was a wall

in the east wing tha

one flat, shutting down any further q

t it

n what I co

visited on

weight of our family's precario

garden, looking over his shoulder as if the roses were lis

aid, hurt coloring my

ezed my hand, his f

ted a

purely ours, something that would

ed at the plastic stick

ink l

chest, so bright

preg

rnoon preparing

t ca

dress, the one that shimm

oked exhausted, his suit ja

e saw the table, his e

is t

, walking toward him

and placed it on

ing to ha

went

te sti

stomach, his f

d across his lips, but i

e of victory,

ing hug, burying his face

murmured aga

't say

t say "o

back to look at me. "You will give me the so

, ignoring the chill t

through the fami

I was more

were

was mo

ust a wife; I was

bed, Ethan's hand r

n whispered in the dark.

" I teas

didn't

ected firmly. "I

ware that to him, I was just the soil where he had p