Husband's Frame, Wife's Fierce Justice

ss Catalina offered

My voice was quiet, but i

rs rippled thro

w ru

so hard, and she ju

s ungra

r?" someone asked, their voi

o looked like she was about to shatter. Then he looked back at

lass from Cat

ously soft. He moved closer, blocking me fro

request. It

s a precise, calculated blow. "It would be a sham

ever loved me without condition. The thought of her

he champagne flute. I brought it to my lips

atio eased. The gues

me, to Alec, to their twisted idea of a happy reunion. Each time, I wa

small, encouragi

ng me to drown in a sea of champagne and fake smiles. I could feel

. And I

liar ache from the ulcers that had plagued me in

ed, twisting int

ast glass, her smile wide and

er, a strangled cough escaping my lips. I felt somethin

oo

oers gaspe

. He rushed to Catalina' s side, pul

ite-hot agony. The faces around me blurred, their

of fluorescent lights. The sme

a hospi

a chair by the win

ice laced with accusation. He turn

Trying to make a scene?

rasp. It was the first time we had sp

me for the first time. I saw his eyes trace the sharp angle of my jaw,

t crossed his fac

n," he murmured, his tone softening into the one he used when he was promising the world. "We' ll go

l picture of a future

n' t care about the house. There

whispered.

nto a monologue about our future, and I had

fine," he said, a

zzed. He glanced at the

oncern. "I have to go. Catalina' s having a

door without a se

ered. And me? I was just the

my lips. He didn' t even h