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