Breaking Free From Her Chains

t the divorce papers

d emailed the

is sister, had said over the

ante

e want

it, maybe even a twisted, dying st

ar

red into Ava Ha

ach her, to make her

e, not to call the la

at him with pity or, worse, that polite confusion society reserved

g at them?" Chloe' s voi

ted, his voice roug

me ago, Ethan. You just

she wa

ights spent alone in their king-si

ys had a

ation m

rity

he soundproofed music

er need for space

lic image – serene, p

image, or maybe

more desperate, were always met with a soft re

neve

er Chloe' s contact a

to do th

round the penth

pr

owards the

was sligh

s meticulous ab

ard a

rhythm

art ha

d the do

n' t me

yes closed, a sleek silver toy

eside her, fanned ou

of t

er chari

d photos

ed younge

frozen in the doorway,

ia

e of pleasure so intense it

irst time he'd fo

ory sea

o, the s

back then, horr

nalize it. Stress. A

o her about their intimacy

m just not in the mood,

ain, the rational

as a raw, g

rity gala in New York

eal vision in white, s

oftware developer, w

untouchab

ssly. Grand gestures, f

ve lan

tant, but eventually, s

e sculpture, Ethan. Beautiful, but you'

n' t l

he could me

me the

, no

ner at a Michelin-

e, no ben

e calm, almost business-like.

stunned,

' d finally b

id yes,

society event, l

iss on the cheek before she retrea

ed," she

remained un

ye

atching her, hearing Liam' s name on her lips, eve

n't a culminatio

s a s

erself, to suppress her illicit, obs

the "saf

ectable

fo

nd unexpected, trace

ano

t make

slowly, pulling th

the photos, Liam' s name

ul, romantic love he' d nurtured for so

back to

s didn' t look so

like an es

ed up t

room an hour later, her ser

ocket, a family heirloom, a s

him, a cool,

asked, her voice devo

k," he said, his own voi

ook at her.

n drifted towar

" she said, a parting re

he heard her d

signed th

nd was