ly escaped Clara's lips, sharp wi
eplied, his voice a low, even rumble. "
picture of calm control. "I nee
m, but the truth was a bitter pill in her throat. After last night, she had nowhere to go. The Fosters would never take
her, Elias Blackwood, is the chairman of the board. He's been using my unmarried stat
rate. "A sudden, whirlwind romance culminating in marriage wo
t candidate. Your background is clean, your academic record is stellar. As the matriarc
for marriage, as if he were hiring an employee, not choosing a wife. She had expected him to offer her a check, a
they would sell her to the highest bidder. There was Leo Vance, a man who now had a reason to
ian Blackwood. A man who was off
le power, "and the Foster family will never dare to touch you a
that he could make a man like Vance disappear from the New York social and busin
aintain public appearances. In private, we would lead separate lives. At the end of the year, we file for a quiet divo
chest. This wasn't a life sentence. It was a business deal. A one-
ny other merger. He was offering her a deal, and the product he was selling-the p
her. He simply sat there, sipping his coffee, his patienc
nomous smile. She could never go back there. Last night had severed that tie pe
choice, but was it re
Damian Blackwood, I'd have thought you were
. The little girl seemed quite amusing.
ike it." - In real
od looked at Clara with si
tracts, were likely more reliable than anything else in this city. This was a path
ian Blackwood,
ow. But she would be safe. She would be
shaky breath, h
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