The Wife He Never Saw

thrust Kortney away from him with such f

ed, his voice a low

or and a panicky concern that was, for the first time, purely for me. He gathered

he started, hi

, bloody hands and his

ed, trying to soothe me. "I'll hand

tered. Multiple fractures in every finger, in every metacarpal. My life as

f, to dress myself, to do anything at all. The divorce was days away, and

air. His touch was infinitely gentle, his face a constant

hest. I was a puppet, and he pulled the strings. My eyes were vacant. My res

ey was waiting for us at the ca

m so sorry,

you," he said, his

in the end, he let her get in t

ing lights and thick black smoke. The west wing,

r had even stopped, he threw open the d

a firefighter yelled,

an aside and plunge

fe in the car. It was the fireproof safe in the back of my old studio. The safe where he k

d, clutching a metal box to his chest. He had risked

I had left to cry rolled down my cheeks. It was the final, brut

n began. A maid, her face smudged with

io just before the fire started! She was angry about

he's trying to destroy everything

e. He looked at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. He didn'

ellar," he command

ed, shaking my head, trying to

ophobia. A childhood trauma had left me

kness. The heavy door boom

n ragged, panicked gasps. I curled into a ball in the corner, my body trembl

s in there. Hours? A day?

ght pierced the darkness. Cedric stood t

at my shaking f

ed your lesson," he

me up. He jus

"I'm going to the memorial. You will stay h

left, leaving

of his car faded into the distance. Th

ent straight to my lawyer's office. The divorce pape

I looked at the crisp, official paper that

ade a ph

t's Keena.

ime. I had a small bag packed with

tes stood on the doorstep, l

she asked, her

vorce certificate

per. A symbolic tra

said. The words

reading across her face. "This is the best anni

my small bag, and walked

he asked, a flicker of

n around. I

e he can'

the past. I was no longer a substitute, no lon

I could fina