When The Charity Case Buys The Empire

r children, the ones who would attend Phillips Exeter or Choate, the ones who would carry on the Bradford name. Now, he stood there, casually

ago, blaming his parents' initial disapproval of her. It was all part of his romanticized narra

d my dismissal. The air, once familiar, now smelled of her expensive, cloying perfume. I stood in the guest room, the

le. Liam' s old university roommate. The one who always looked at me with a kindness Liam never bothered to

ious, "if you want to start over, I' ll help you. Hell, I' ll ma

f obligation and a foolish hope that Liam w

er the call button.

d on the s

per than I remembered, b

e a choked whisper. "Is that

, "Always, Ava. For you,

say it all, not yet. "I need

s tone firm, decisive. "Three d

ething igniting within the wreckage. H

I'll be

my fingers closing around the cool metal of the locket. I pulled it out, wiping away a smear of