The Kingmaker: A Business Contract Marriage.

't br

old against my cheek, slick with something wet. My blood? I try to tur

she wouldn'

to dis

nate comp

on white marble. My phone is ringing somewhere. Na

domen. Sharp. Absolute. D

ere's nothing

y tongue is too thick, useless. A shoe comes into view. Expen

e stayed away f

kne

*

nightgown. My heart hammers so hard that I

AM. A

t hum of the city that never quite goes dark. My hands find the scar

it. Don't remember anything beyond fragments of th

inty that I n

esert-dry. The dreams are getting worse. More frequent.

running, of hiding, of building a life where I control every variable, there's still one thing th

e same curls. The same stubborn set to his mouth. I try not to dwell on it during daylight hours, but at 3:1

ment create a beat in the dark.

er nig

n years as my shadow, my protector, my one confid

," I whisper, the lie

hair, her tablet casting blue light across her angular face. "Dr. Sengup

y stomach. Fear has a physical weight

lse," I say, more to co

ately puts me on alert. Vivienne never hesi

ts between us lik

hat makes me angry. I've built an empire on never showing weakness. On being the woma

eel like I'm runni

op. I shouldn't do this. I do it anyway,

r Lev

s that see too much. I spent years training myself not to look for him, not to wonder. Not to imagi

adlines benea

Attorney Annou

ises Tech Regu

Struggles with 'C

t one before I

connect with candidates who reflect traditional family structures,' explains political strategist K

or a sob. Nasir Leviné, suffering from

l. New test results. I click, my stomach dropping as I scan n

rrives from an unfamiliar address: tyler.levine

entering his school yesterday. My son, with his headphones on, face half-hid

s of text

you could hid

talked,

are too expen

: *Someone accessed Koda's medical files

. Of building a fortress around my

window glass. A woman whose carefully constructed control is slipping. Th

us. They fo

back – marble floor, champ

e stayed away fr

hose voice it wa

or later, I'll have to face his brother. The