The Architect's Reckoning

he train, the Washington D

e y

in this city, the city that had b

hand slipping into his,

ed excitedly from his other side, p

ouse,

e that reached his eyes, "Ye

had fled, but as a husband, a father, an ar

meet them, a detail Ethan wa

! Over

and something else Ethan couldn't quite place.

Uncle Joe boomed, pulling him into a rough

mile faltering f

this

said, his voice steady,

shot up, "Wife? Daug

ared, mouth

questions, with the weight of

Lily into their temporary apar

ure move fast, Ethan. Last I heard

me. Seraphina Vance. His first love

long time ag

for something like what you two had. Folks arou

't need th

ational Charity Gala, the culmination of his young career. He' d just won

aptain Marcus Thorne, Sera's war-hero cousin,

e, pale, th

and cold as she announced her choic

g with his cheek, the sound

arm, walking away, leaving Ethan

engagement. Ethan's promising new project in D.C.? Cancelled. Instead, he was "reassigned" to

d in, his voice

sage. Said if you apologized, really groveled, she might consider keeping

architect. The arrogance was breathtaking, or perhap

struck by the Vances, always pushin

t but firm. "I've been married to Clara

king in. "Three years? Married? So, you weren

ider it? I was building a l

He' d made sure of that. His life with Clara, their quiet happiness in the small Appalachian town where they'd met, it was a world aw