Reclaiming My Stolen Life

s from her, his expression serious. He hadn't changed much in five years-still the same shar

ast, just a brilliant resume I fabricated based on your actual work. You'll have a new passpo

aid. Kate. It sounded strange.

w you were," he said with a smal

very." It felt more like a gilded cage. He was waiting in the

? I was so worried." He tried to ta

ded so

s legs. He peeked out at her, and his

, his chubby arms wrapped around her neck, his sleepy breath wa

owards the elevator. Derek followe

Cat. I'm so sorry. I

d brushed her hair, the stories he'd read to her unconscious form. It w

a hopeful note in his voice. "I wan

e said, her

st come to our room

edroom had been transformed. It was filled, floor to ceiling, with

id, beaming. "An

e. She picked up a silk scarf, a pattern she had always hated. She saw

early used. A handbag with a faint scratch near the

st-offs. He was giving

ed her lips. "Get ri

uinely confused. "But...

d up from the doorway. "Mommy Anjelica wou

ndured a nine-month pregnancy that nearly killed her. She had spent countless sle

led her th

force behind his words. He was placating the boy, not defend

shion sat a diamond ring. It was enormous, a flawles

said, his voice reverent. "There's

Alexander purchases legendary diamond for his beloved

tried to slide the

as too small, stopp

d. You must have gained some weight i

they had ever been, frail and bony after five years of atrophy. The

oning on in the background about the rin

as a man capable of loving two women at once-or perhaps, loving the idea of what each woman represented. He wa

ting through his speech. "If you had to choose,

Even if it meant the en

ut his phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at the

y. A flicker of panic, then ann

ered, already moving toward the door

r when he paused. "What we

eeling spreading through her c

she added, her voice laced wit

r forehead with a tenderness that made he

art-shaped diamond. She walked to the trash can and dr

dy answered