Lost Love, Found Freedom, and Escape

e was and why. She shivered, not just from the freezing air, but from the look in her husband' s eyes. The man standing before her was Alexander Sterling, a name that made the t

an was

e flat and devoid of any warmth. He stood under a large black umbrella held by

ple graphic designer' s dress, something she' d worn to the office on a nor

shot back, his eyes narrowi

n Paris and Florence. He bought her a private studio overlooking the city, filled with crates of rare pigments and the finest canvases. He would sit with her for hours, long into the night, just watching her practice, ignoring the angry calls from his board of directors about his neglect. He wrote a graphic novel about their love story, a silly,

freeze in a snowstorm for a w

nd herself. A deep, cramping pain was starting in he

ened. The cold, hard mask he wore for her melted away into one of genuine

served for someone else, was the cruelest blow of all. He was worried about Clara Bell, his new associate, who was probably sitting in a warm room wit

voice was a weapon, and David was her weak spot. Her younger brother' s chronic illness was a constant worry, and Alexander' s wealth was t

id was a familiar, suffocating blanket. "D

used to comfort her, now made her feel sick. "Clara is special. She' s fragile, innocent. She looks at the world wi

into, a woman who existed only within the bubble he had created. Now

cking. The cramp intensified, and she pressed a hand against

d her. Admit you were jealous of my attention.

a piece of her soul being carved away. "I admit it," she choked out. "I was je

satisfied

ss spread between her legs, staining the inside of her thighs. She looked down at the pristine white snow around her feet and saw a horrifyin

a terror that had nothing to do with the cold o

or a moment before it settled back into cold indifference. His obsession with Clara had co

aving her bleeding in the snow. He was going to co

ome, her security, her dignity. And now, her child. The love that had been her sun, her moon, and all her stars had not just faded, it had become a black ho

im anymore. The f