From Ashes: The Unwanted Wife's Return

Gilber

d been severe, leaving me weak and hollowed out. I lay there for days, a prisoner in my own body, the si

ft. Then nine. Eight. The number was a mantra, a se

ape, I was jolted awake by the sound of my bedroom door being

her voice echoing in the

from the lingering effects of t

e bed, her eyes blazing. "My mother's sapphire br

g but a common thief! It's in your blood, isn't it? Everyone in New York kn

n in Jace's eyes as he appeared behind her. He remembered the bet. The ten-million-dollar price tag h

back," he said

nsisted, my voice trembling.

llon snarled. "Search her

fore nodding to the two guards who

my clothes onto the floor. They upended my jewelry box, scattering the few precious items I owned. They tore pages from my

morbid curiosity. I was being publicly humiliated, stripped bare i

they foun

ith frustration. "She must

g in the air, t

f something-shame? hesitation?-before it was extinguished by h

r corner of the bed, pulling the sheet

e other grabbed my arms, pinning me against the headboard. My nightgown was torn from my body, leaving me

eyes. It was a slow, deliberate assault on my dignity, my humanity. I closed my eyes, a single, h

ound n

annoyance. "What? ... You found it where? ... In the pocket of my coat from yesterday?

nd swept out of the room, her head held h

their whispers follow

ot looking at me, his face a mask of confli

te. He pulled out his wallet and removed a stack of hundred-dollar bill

y pain. For my stolen dignity. He was putting a pr

. I was nothing more than a transactio