Ninety-Nine Letters, A Thousand Lies

Burri

face. "Did you tell Jonna to confront us at the a

heavy. "No," I said. My voice barely a whisper. My he

oser. His presence felt menacing. "And now her private photos are onlin

lt a cold dread spread through my body. He wasn't just threatening Jonna.

rs. "She cares about me. She saw you and Kennedy. She reacte

protect Kennedy's reputation." He paused. His gaze flickering to Kennedy. Who stood quietly beside him. Her eyes wid

oice. "You humiliated her. You exposed her most p

times, inconveniences need to be handled. Now, about your little friend's photos. They will

be too hard on Aubrey. She's clearly distressed." Her voice was a sugary facade. But he

ds. The words we

I blurted out. The words f

aced by unbridled glee. "Cooper, darling! This is it! Our chance!" She turned to him. Her eyes shining with a dangerous ambition. "The

ily. My family. The family he wa

hing complicated in his eyes. Not love. Some

free! We can finally make our arrangement official!

word hung in the

echoed. My voic

ou out of the way. I proposed to you because you were a threat. You knew about Kennedy's plagiarism. You could have ruined everything." He paused. His

h hitched. He was talkin

to heiress Kennedy Patel. He was already gone. Already married. Our marriage, my l

it. He had desecrated it. Made it the day he o

him. Away from her. Away from this house. This nigh

. "Don't think this changes anything. You're still under

es met his. A cold fury now

me to court. Don't try to make a scene. You saw what happened to Jonna. Imagine what I could do to you. To your car

e a declaration of ownership. He saw me as a po

ike I was drowning. My head throbbed. The room spun. The image of Cooper and

the stairs. Into the empty shell of my bedroom. The door c

a. "Aubrey? Are you okay? I

my face. Silent. Relentless. I sank to the floor. My back against the col

. This brokenness. This humiliation. It was the catalyst. It was the fire that woul

ently stroking my hair. A warm breath on my cheek. Cooper. His presence. His scent. The ghost of a comfort I on

. He doesn't love you. He never

he breath-all an illusion. A cruel trick of my exhausted mind. The heavy duvet lay half-

eep. Or perhaps it was dead from the notifications. I crawled to the bedside table. Plugging it in. As the screen flickered to life, I quic

d the air. Cooper, dressed in a crisp suit, was stirring cream into Kennedy' s coffee. His back to me. She was perched on a stoo

e a purr. "This is simply divine. You alw

e best for you, my love." His eyes met mine b

ked. Her smile didn't reach her

lied. My voice tight. I couldn' t sto

ndescending. "Cooper went to so much trouble. He ev

me every Sunday. Now they were part of her morni

y," I said. Tu

ave something important to discuss. Kennedy's arrival. He

ements

ss, Cooper," I said. My v

no money. Your credit cards are canceled. And your career... well, let's just say it's been difficult for you la

w did she know about the Olsen family? M

enough!" He turned to me. His eyes blazing. "Aubrey, you will not leave. Not yet. You will stay here. And you will make Kennedy

' t just controlling me. He was demanding I pa

tense silence. My phone. I glanced

o is that?" he demanded. His

inger hovering over

is voice rose. A dangerous edge

ers digging into my flesh. "Let go!" I cried. The phone slipped from my grasp. Cla

onnected.

ht. And a rather... disturbing discovery about Miss Patel

d. His eyes darted between the broken ph

composure shattering. "What is she ta

screen. His face pale. My arm throbbed. A red mar

there?" Ms. Thorne'

My eyes met Cooper' s. His face was

rmation, Ms. Burris. Cooper Mcknight did indeed renounce his US citizenship. And he i

. A death knell for every

to her mouth. Not in shock. Bu

wide. Unblinking. "Aubrey..."

oved me. Not one moment. I was just a convenient lie. The pain was unbear

ample Mr. Mcknight provided? It was definitively not his own. And the Olsen family... they've been searching for

owed. The rage solidified. "Yes," I said.