one absurd reality into another. An autumn wind whipped down the Brooklyn

stop at the curb. A man in a suit, Leo,

stiff, impersonal motion. There was

. It was sterile, like a hospital, a sharp antiseptic scent layered with the faint, cold

maximum possible distance between them in the enclosed space. The silence that fell was

eading for the Brooklyn Bridge and the

onal phone. He slipped in a single wireless ea

his side of the conversation was impossible to ignore. His p

tever you have to. I don't care abo

He ended the call without a goodbye, pulling the earbud out and letting out a slow, controlled breath. T

ssed a thick file folder ove

t a glimpse of her own face on a printed page. A full backgroun

adlines were brutal, sensational. Beaumont Heiress a Fraud! The Imposter Princess Kicked

nother document, this one freshly printed, the pages h

efore the imposing stone colu

id ground on the wide concrete steps. The air fel

t, holding out the prenup and a he

g on the steps of the marriage bureau, she began to read. T

d all claims to his assets, properties, and future earnings. She let out a short,

use. There were rules for cohabitation she hadn't agreed to.

to the most

ter within a three-foot radius of the Husband's

ooking at him as if he were a specimen in a jar. "Are you serious? W

eact to her insult, didn't even blink. He simply

his voice flat and f

thought of the twenty-two thousand, four hu

slash of ink on the last page. She d

er signature. A flicker of something, maybe relief, cros

olding a numbered ticket. "Si

Althea took a deep breath, the city air tasting of exha