t the pale, hollow-eyed stranger in the mirror. S

ivorce agreement lay like a verdict. Picking up

a real

ter a long wait.

p like a coat of armor. She would not let him see her break. She drove

ing with his back to her, a formidable silho

ntries. "Is it because of her? Th

uilt on his face, only a wea

ean?" she demande

ent, then he said the

was Blake's college sweetheart. The one he never, ever talked about, which somehow made her presence in his past loom ev

s massive desk to steady herself. So that's all this was. A pla

y now. "I married you only because your family had done mine

ist

three years of marriage, of shared meals, of sleeping in

r real love is back, and the little sister

t. His silence w

houlders, and walked out. She would not gi

y, her heels clicking on the pavement. She pulled out her phone, sc

er feed. It was from Preston Sinclai

ing, his arm wrapped securely around the waist of a stunning blonde woman. Th

d her instantly.

: "Welcome back

st night. While she was at home, wait

c, about being tired-it was all to

g the last of her composure. She leaned against the cold

very beginning. And she was

She left every group chat, every social circle

this moment on, she was living for two people. He

private design studio. She needed to work. She needed