Erasing the Woman He Promised Forever

beth began to dismantle

ed with t

wo years ago. He'd wrapped it around her neck, his fin

ter since. A symbol of a

it neatly, and placed it in a cardboard

e the ph

the campus lawn. Floyd and her at a gala, his arm possessively around her wa

These were memories of a different woman, a woman w

nt and placed it in the box on top o

s one la

ed. On the first page was a pencil drawing she

. He looked fragile, human. There was no cruelty in his eyes yet, on

ho

red the feeling of her heart swelling as she sketched,

ool she

sketchbook. She carried it to the small, unu

ght the corne

ontorted in the heat, turning

agile flake of ash. She felt a sharp, cle

ame back to her room

was i

of Elizebeth's closet, h

e floor. She turned, a predatory smile on her face. "Floyd and

rking her

She bent down, picked up

th false sympathy. "I'm sure Floyd will give you a gen

first time. She saw the insecurity flickering beneath

ting me know," Eli

. This quiet compliance unnerved her. She swept out of th

a maid knocke

he sunroom, miss. She said to m

's stomac

eous and gave her a headache. Floyd knew that. He had been the one to d

ten. Or he no

her irrelevance. A small, cru

s thick with the rich, earthy scent of the coffee bean

wed the

nto two delicat

s steady. The aroma burned in her nostrils, a

together on a white wicker sofa. T

ray on the table

ffee," s

cup and took a deli

e frowned. "You look pale, Eliz

a reflex, a gho

ne," sh

She had been say

r eyes was not just a physical pain. It was a confirmation. A final,