il

y began to unbutton his cuffs, his movements precise and deliberate. It was the same way

ame action, the slow rolling of his sleeves, meant he was about to pull me into his ar

aps, the man he had always been, and I had just been too blind with love

dy was screaming at me to run, to hide, but there was nowhere to go. This gilded cage was d

ing my voice to remain steady. I had to hold on to

y eyes narrowing slightly. "You' ve said that befo

me is dif

, my breath catching in my chest. He didn't stop until he was towering over me, close enough f

r of fear, not desire, down my spine. "You think calling th

. I will scream from the windows. I will tell every reporter who wi

rning in his brilliant mind, calculating, assessing. He was the m

k, a slow, cold smile

ht," h

him, bewilde

his smile widening. "You want a

words. It was a trick.

his car keys from the bowl on the console table. "The city clerk's office is open for anot

was too easy. Hamilton n

raised. "Are you coming, or hav

burgeoning hope. What if he was s

followed him out of the apartment, not daring to spe

sual focused intensity, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. I stared out the

is element, charming a clerk here, citing an obscure bylaw there. Within thirty minutes, we were

a moment's hesitation. The stroke

ure-Hamilton Jones-the name that had once been my world, now just ink on a piece

milton said, his voi

scrawled my name. April Ba

' s filed. There is a state-mandated sixty-day waiting period. Aft

ty

is face. "Sixty days, April," he said, his voice lo

sure I would come crawling back. Th

we stepped out onto the cold street, his phone

ld, ruthless lawyer vanished, repla

attack?" He listened for a moment, his brow furrowed.

in a mask of detached politeness. "Something'

ve away, leaving me standing on the sidewalk, the cold wind whippin

w York traffic, a new feeling began to solidify in my

he had sixty days to break me. He didn' t r

escript hotel in a part of town he would never think to look. From the sterile quiet of the hotel room,

y personal phone ra

op this nonsense and come home. We need to prepare for my mother' s birthd

o arrange flowers for the woman who d

on. For us to cohabitate could be viewed as an attempt to reconcile, potentially nullif

e on the other end of the

e of something that sounded almost like p

learner," I

voice hardened again. "Get hom

e in the background on his end. "Ham, wh

ere together. Of

f a lock falling into place. It was the final confirmation I needed. The l

lat. "As you can see, I am not coming home. We are, for all in

y went through my contacts and blocked every single person we knew in common.

I knew it was him. I let it ring until it went to

ed case. I doubt any other lawyer in this city would have the courage to take it on, especial

Dudley. He was using my brothe

ace swimming in my vision. He wouldn' t l