nvas picture hung right

letely different. And wrapped in his arms, wearing a simple white silk dress, was me. I was leanin

ing a small, terrified s

on a marble stand,

ge pregnancy, wearing a pale yellow dress. Aeron was kneeling on the floor in front of me

ion'. My mother and my father were standing right ther

couldn't hold it back. It tore out of my chest,

ahaha! Oh

th, tears bursting out of my ey

isn't it?! You can just feed a few photos into a program and generate a whole fake life! Fake wedding! Fake belly! Fak

He stood by the sofa, looking at me with a fa

t a folded white paper, and threw it o

aid, his voice bare

t?! Another f

t and dropping it onto the floor. He slowly rolled up his white sleeves, his hands tr

ke a trapped bird. I lunged forward,

l headers, the stamps, down to

LITY OF

AYES -

THORNE -

.99

ists. I tore it once, twice, shredding the sheet until my fingers hurt, and threw

down, landing on his dark

ou dragged me out of a church! You threatened Julian! The second I get out of this door, I am going

ng his arms. A small, bitter smile touched the

d," he sa

Wh

ed on mine. "There's an iPad on the side table

lt like it wa

are you

," he whispered. "Se

s posture. A sign that he was bluffing. But he just sto

ely hold my arms up, I backed over to the tabl

My fingers fumbled over

LLE T

it e

tantly. Hundreds of pa

N HAYES MARRIES RAVELLE T

trembling so hard I a

Appointed to Boa

ayes Attend Annual C

g Ravelle Hayes Crashes Near No

yes Found Alive Afte

Video clips. News footage of Aeron standing outside a hospital in t

ole wor

ew. My pa

I was his wife

my hand, shattering against the

nails against my scalp. The room felt like i

mbered meeting Julian at eighteen! I remembered waking up in that hospital two years ago af

nish?! How could I carry a child in

pointed at him. "You built this! You bought the website

or. He didn't grab me. He stopped a foot away,

an buy your father. I can buy silence. But can I buy the scar on your left hip?

le body

e tight lace of my corset. A thin, jagged two-inch line sat right above

ing over me. "Can I fake the way you cry when you get a migraine and force me to hold your forehea

ropping to my knees. "

umm

t voice came f

d, my face wet,

tching a worn-out brown teddy bear by its ear. He rubbed his swo

s on the cold floor, and stopped right next to me. He reached ou

asked softly, his lips trembling. "

d over my lips,

Julian came when you were in the hospital and told Daddy you didn't want us anymore. Daddy cried every

ist crashing into my chest, knocking ev

edding dress pooling around me like a white shroud. Loud, unco

e me on the floor, wrapped his arm around my shaking shoulde