while Brinley stood di

gaze was gone. A mocking smile curled her lips, s

and I already agreed. Why do you still lo

y flared in Th

though she were the one who had betraye

from his grasp, walked straight into the b

d weakly against it, her chest hurtin

e, Theodore's phon

ll come over

y the sound of his footsteps leaving without another word to Brin

to add excitement to their intimate life and please him. Now her reflection stood befo

r lower abdomen, a reminder of how sh

e married. Then an assassination attempt nearly took his life-she stepped in and took the knife for h

odore held her tightly and promised that if she survive

d as a marriage of conven

truly believed she

zed she never

alculating woman who had forced

over her body. She scrubbed desperately at the

ed herself in a towel, dried her long

f the bed and opened the second drawer of the nightstand.

only once every five years. Even more tempting, the top three wi

applications wa

a car accident and fallen into a coma. In order to take care of him, she withdrew her application and gave up the opp

he opened her laptop and s

e some time, which gave her enough

re out of her life. It would be bette

the application, the pho

saw a message from

l. In the picture, a man was carefully shielding a woman beside

Brinley recognized them immediately

e sentence. "Theodore said

Brinley had received a prov

s love for her. Because of that, she always ignored these messages and nev

he realized how foo

message. Instead, she qu

ore never returned

e remembered the joy she felt when he finally woke from his coma, the dangerous days after the a

vy, suffocating pain. It felt as though an entire lifetime had p

, she arrived at the co

appeared. This time, instead of quietly waitin

old and distant voice came

in the background. He was obv

with work. Whether it was an anniversary, a birthday, or

e, she was d

aiting at the courthouse for t

one of the sadness or reluctance. She sounded like the on