Veils Of Secrets

a's

t also because I've always felt invisible. Under the pretense of preserving the family's reputation, my mother, Margaret Rivers, t

nking twice since I'm just a girl who blends in with the wallpaper. Generally speaking, I've come to accept it. I've built my life in the quiet nooks and crannies, and I fi

is wheelchair securely positioned like a throne. His keen eyes look about the room, and he appears... active for the first time in years. Margaret, my mother, is si

s runni

n. She ought to have been here, seated across from me, her laughter filling the awkward silences, with her p

, flowing motions with my fing

othersome, her lips pressing into a thin line

in silent. Or rat

rsh, gravelly sound that demands attention, my father clears his throat. "Le

is blank. Every tick of the old clock on the wall breaks

s onto the table's edges. "Nadia," he says, his voice l

e only uses that tone when delive

getting

hick, the words l

nked at him, sure that I had mishear

as she leans forward. "It's already ar

ongue. A billionaire with a reputation as icy and merciless as the winter wind, he is notorious in the city. His name

ad forcefully. "This is a mistake. Nan

the space. "Nancy isn't here, is she?" he snaps. "This alliance is too

? I felt

h the air like a blade. "Nancy left this morning.

les. Every time my heart beats, it roars loudly in my ears and poundi

and incisive question. "Why can'

ly," Arthur concludes in a definitive

omes blurry at the edges, and the air feels too thick. My own family is

the ground. She puts a chilly hand firmly on my shoulder

away from her grasp. "You're using me! Yo

. "Enough of thi

s, but she waves him of

She says, her voice is low and poisonous. "And now it'

ve, the truth sweeps over me. In their eyes, I'm nothing more tha

house before I can sign another word. My heart jum

nc

roma of Nancy's perfume is still permeating the corridor as it extends in fr

s e

rown open to show racks of missing clothes.The only

it up and look over the

t do this. Ple

s my knees give way and the

has

the repla