a
ice tearing through the hallway li
ion that makes your skin crawl. My heart slammed against my ribs, not from surprise, but from inevitability. This was the moment I'd been bracing for
orporate bride-to-be shattered, I could feel the sentence forming behind her teeth. I could practically hear the gears turning in her head, grind
physically block the words from coming out of her mouth. "She need
on the table. He thought this was still
pposed to marry Julian Windsor! And now,
r tears, for something she could grab onto and weaponize. Her mouth twisted like she'd already de
who got you preg
it m
r and more unhinged. It always did. Silence te
didn't care about my body or my decisions or even the
gedy. A man I'd never met. Never spoken to. Never even seen in real life or on a screen or on a grainy ne
o photos, no online interviews, no social media presence. Not even a blurry LinkedIn profile or a suspicious Wikipedia stub. Julian Windsor didn't exist, not in the way normal people exist. All we
m like a bargaining chip would fix everything wrong with
emotion in this house, but because I didn't have an answer. Vegas was a blur of neon lights, alcohol-soaked memories, half-remembered laug
?" Delia's voice sliced through
I needed. The aud
ditioning for some spoiled heiress role in her own fantasy movie. Her hair was twisted into that perfectly messy updo that probably took thirty minu
hat mean..." she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest theatrically, "I'll be the o
terly. "Glad to see some
e offended. Her smile widened
elia down. That she'd say no, that she'd insist I was still the daugh
led. "David," she said softly, with that tone tha
Worn down by years of surrender. I saw the exact moment he folded, th
hter," he said quietly, and the word
pawn. The deal. And now
regnant! David, you know we can'
d. "Okay, we gi
her voice climbing with excitement. "YES." She actually leapt in place, clapping
bbing Delia's face and kissing her forehead like she'd just
soaking it in
mom turn
evaporate
t us if she stays," she said sharply
ike he was chewing a broken glass. He didn't say no. He d
ve pace she always used when she'd already made
g that your father and I bought for you. You ar
t. Like I was something spoiled sitting on her counter that neede
oked aside. He turned his head away
se than the screaming. Worse than
me. He was supposed to b
ile, stupid second hoping he'd
ream. That would've given them too much satisfacti
every step, like the house itself was already rejecting me. I passed the family photos, forced smiles, staged vacations, and framed lies
t felt
hed th
ned
colder than I expected. The kind of cold th
I had was my phone. And it was because they didn't see it on me; if th
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