Wrong contract marriage, right husband

lationship with my stepsister, and I i

trust fund, I had to enter into a

hat my marriage partne

ire's long-h

nder Sterling was ultimate

ause I both f

pte

a's

go, my life was a carefu

News blew up. And right at the top w

Thorne takes romance w

th nausea. Liam's hand was draped possessively and intimately arou

cer. My s

, radiant smile that crinkled the corners of hi

the Givenchy after-party, Thorne called th

Soul

zation hit me like a physical slap

as an architect on hold to manage his life,

in his bed when he was lonely. I had been nothing more than a gl

, wrapping my arms around myself, fighting to maintain

dropped down from

for a server room crisis. Back in NY Thurs

nd certainly no "we need to t

appliance. A coffee ma

realization hit me: being penniless meant rel

n, my ph

ashed on the cal

a deep, heavy breath,

me through the line, shrill and triumphant. "I to

y knuckles turned white. "I don

k at you now! Completely humiliated on the front page of every tabloid in New York. The Mercer-Henderson merge

ausea rose

d like a wet cough, and his hands always lingere

aid. "I am not a bargaining chip you can u

stays frozen. Clara, your father's will is crystal clear. You only gain control of those a

fr

t of this suffocating life. It was enough money to start my own architecture firm,

marriage. It doesn't specify with whom.

t dare," Bea

ce turning to ice, "but I'm not marry

the king-sized bed and slowly walked

ely needed

whose life was as messy as mine, someone who needed

My fingers flew across the keyboard, my mind racing th

an H

nderground gossip circles for months. Julian was a not

ed to cut him off entirely unless he could fi

a law firm that specialized in "sensitive

apped bird against my ribs, but

tract negotiation.

it

lass. My auburn hair was a mess, my eyes

I whispered to the emp