His Unwanted Bride: The Substitute's Secret

owed the

back of her throat, a small, shar

he cool hardwood of the hallway. She didn't hesitate, her path sure

t room.

acked any personal touch. It felt like a suite in a five-star hotel, anonymous and temporary.

her chin, wrapping it tightly around herself. A cocoon

agree to t

She closed her eyes, willing the pills to work, t

began to blur. The tension in her shoul

the dream

y lit room, the air thick with the smell of old wood, lemon polish

ld ring on the pinky, were covering hers. They were press

omething sickening, whispered in her ear. "

onant, jarring chord that

, to escape, but his grip wa

m her fingers, up her wrist, tracing the delicate

scaped her lips in the

mered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Cold sweat

bedside table, fumbli

ite, chasing the shadows back into t

at her pho

en stared at a screen full of fluctuating stock pric

, terrified, her eyes wide wi

ery line of an old scar on his left wrist caught the light from his desk l

the built-in bar. The clink of the crystal decanter against the

t was the loss of control. The feeling of n

n his lawyer's office, her posture perfect, her expression serene. She had signed t

, for the aloofness of the Lanc

t... it wasn't coldness

as f

rative he had constructed. He tossed back the whi

n the hall, his steps silent

seeped from underne

from the wood. He wanted to knock. He wanted to as

, hypocritical. He wa

dropped t

data, in strategy, in clear and concise terms. This me

ong moment, a silent g

walked back to the s