ntone was sprawled on the bed, sleeping off

r her. She needed to see. Sh

ocked. She hesitated for only a s

E-L-

one un

It just felt heavy, a

d shots from family gatherings, screenshots from social media, photos he must have ta

. All of them were group shots where s

app. It was a diary. A

e flower is

fee but loves

ooked like the sun. Desmond is the lu

another woman's life, interspersed with his ow

f his delusion, she heard the front door open downstairs

the phone and fled the room, a s

am break. She sank to the floor, her body wracked with silent, tearless sobs. It w

ed, she was left wi

up and beg

things that were truly hers. Her parents' old photographs. A worn copy of her favo

thered into a large pile in the middle of the room. She found the star chart Antone had given her at th

life of their influe

came at her door.

er the pile of discarded luxury goods with distaste. "Stop this foolishness

Dallas's eyes were

e, the familiar mask of comp

rse," s

less art and suffocating silence, M

anged a marr

d at him, un

tock transaction. "The tech mogul from Seattle. A brilli

asked, her voice a

accident a few years ago. But his company is on the verge of a major breakthro

emotions anymore. They wer

said, his eyes like chips of ice. "You have a duty

, died in a lab explosion caused by faulty Morgan-supplied equipment. The Morgans had silenced the story,

ive one. Then she thought of Desmond, who chose a merger over h

er here. No love. No family.

she asked, her voice

quick compliance. "Next week. We've already made

allas, with nothing left to lose, accepte

rst into the room,

wedding? Dallas is with me!"

ntone," his mother snap

Antone shot back, his ey

las, tell them," he urged, his voice a desperate whi

s favorite toy from being taken away. She felt nothing. A part of her,

shut behind them, he spun her ar