Rejected Love, Contracted Life

anding between two fresh graves, the scent of damp earth and lilies thick in the air. My small hand was lost in Ethan's much larger one. He was my

prisingly gentle as he guided mine. I saw him presenting me with my own fully equipped workshop on my eightee

lous.' 'A schoolgirl crush.' The images twisted, his proud smile turning into a sneer, his fiancée Brittany laughing beside him.

across my room-my former room. I felt like a ghost, haunt

ency. As I dragged my suitcase to the door, it swung open. Ethan st

manded, his voice low and dangerous. He bloc

to keep my voice steady. I refu

otional. You're not going anywhere," he stated, as if

was you telling me how things ar

of something-was it panic?-in his eyes. His

was just a guest. A ward. And now that I'm twenty-two, your g

h of anger, the tightening of his jaw. He wanted to command me, to order me back into

"Fine. Run away. You'll come crawling back when you

e. I pulled my suitcase past him without another word and walked down the stairs and out the fron

gates of the Vance estate, my phone b

My offer stands. Shall we meet for coffee to finalize

rofessional, direct, and blessedly free of emotion. It was exactly what I needed. He

quick reply. 'Y

l, impeccably dressed in a simple but expensive-looking black sweater and slacks, with an air of quiet confidence. He wasn't

calm and even as he sat down op

. "And thank you for

iness and personal reasons. A partnership. In return, I can offer you financial security, a home, and complete fr

he emotional inferno I had just escaped, 'transac

ed. "What do yo

d, respectable, and you have no interest in my fortune. That makes you

urreal calm washing over me.

s proposal. "Good. We can go to City Hall this afternoon. My

een rejected by the man I loved, and agreed to marry a man I barely knew. It was insane. It was terrifying. But as I looked at Liam Hayes,