laying on his lips. "After everythin

er laugh escape me. "You mean let

rjected, his tone patronizing. "Mark sav

, "was dragged through

. The man I loved, or thought I loved,

known I possessed. "You stood in that sterile lawyer's office, tears in yo

. "Things change, Ava. T

stench of bleach and despair. The endless, monotonous days. The nights I cried myself to sleep, clutch

my soul into those designs, late nights fueled by c

k. My ideas, my work. You were the face, the sal

cient history, Ava. The company

e very concepts tied to the Harrison Tower project. The one wi

court decided you

"You said it was the only way to protect our future. But you were already building a n

puffing his chest out slightly. "My parents deserved

ez name? What about that?

away, tears wel

d. "Ava, enough! Mark has been good to us. He gave

rat

e harder than

om, my career, my reputat

yal, his calculated crue

had meticulously erased me

but beneath it, a cold

ted, my voice devoid of the earli

at?" he sneered.

d," I said, meeting his gaze. "The com