The Price Of Unspoken Love

oved to save him. Today, he walked back int

pend that time with my daughter, Kenzie. But I was being sued for custod

lawyer walked in. I

is client slapped me across the face. He threatene

will see you in court, and I will take every

dying. He only knew he hated me, and he now had a new fa

lies so he could have a future. But my sacrifice had turned him into a

ey and sent her far away. As he celebrated the birth of his

letter that would burn his

pte

Daniel

r loved to save him. Today, he walked back in

ss the polished mahogany table, Guadalupe Swanson, the sister of my deceased husband-of-convenience, da

ed deep in my bones. Leukemia, the doctors had said. A ticking clock I couldn't afford to watch. All I wanted w

nd publicity of a trial, hoping a quiet settleme

ed, and my world t

n Fl

his man was a stranger, sculpted from ice and ambition. His suit was impeccably tailored, his jaw set like stone, and his eyes-the same deep, soul

e silence. "There she is. The black widow. Look at h

fixed on the wood

her voice rising. "My brother was a good man, a saint, to ta

fifties, cleared her throat. "Mrs. Swanso

"I want compensation. For my brother' s emotional

adalupe," I said, my v

st my cheek, the force of it snapping my head to the side. The sting was sharp,

s he watched his client assault me. The Bryan I knew would have thrown

. I just absorbed the blow, my

any emotion. It was calm, measured, the voice of a lawyer commanding

streaked with rain and tears, begging me not to leave him. Th

in front of me with a soft thud. His fingers,

een us. I thought of the time he' d scribbled 'I will love Ellie Daniels forever' on a

s face, broken and confused as I spat the cruelest words I could conjure. "You were a charity case, B

my life, to protect him from the loan sharks and criminals my father' s ruin had unleashed.

seat but still vibrating with rage. "You owe us. If you ca

e roar building in my chest. "Y

rembled violently. The chemotherapy

It was a business arrangement. He needed a caregiver, and

screeched. "My b

l gaze on me. "Ellie Daniels. The great Ellie Daniels. I never thou

d. He knew exact

nt is willing to settle for five hundred thousand dollars. A small price to pay to keep yo

again of his face that last night, the way his shoulders slumped in defeat, the image of his broken s

ispered, the admission costing me what little

off, his voice like chipping ice. "This is a legal matt

ature line. "Sign it. Or I will see you in court, and I w

k. I wiped it away angrily. No. I wouldn't give him the s

as precious, and I would not spend it fighting a losing battle against the man

drain from my eye

is voice a low, chilling whispe

ips. "I know. I'm already a

creen photo of him and a beautiful, delicate-looking woman, her head resting on his shoulder. Addison Mcbride. Her family had o

He had a famil

tupid hope I' d clung to for six years-that maybe, s

badly that the bag slipped, its contents spilling across the floor. Lipsticks, loose change, and a doz

my face to the floor, then back up. A flicker of something-c

. "That girl, Kenzie. How old is she?" Before I could