nora

ut tonight, it felt suffocating. I paced across the antique Persi

Maria, who stood quietly by the mahogany dresser. "To my face! In my own home! That Rossi gi

her head bowed. "And she brings legitimate wealth. For the

nd. "Her so-called delicate constitution is a farce. She isn't sleeping until noon out

ook a deep breath, smoothing the heavy fabric of my black skirt. I would fin

ria

humiliation that still stained my cheeks. No matter how much I spent on Par

arco, strolled in, humming a jazz

" he grinned, completely oblivious to

the vanity. "Your brother's new wife humiliated me today, and you are buyi

irk on his handsome face. "Don't waste your energy, Gloria. You could e

icked my eyes. "You ar

Once Damien and his pretty bride produce an heir, ou

suffocating in the gilded

ella

rossed the threshold of our private wing. The tension from the

lay face-down on the massive four-poster bed

led down the collar of my dress, the dark, violent bruises Damien

ed. "Leave us,

ly fled the room. The hea

e. "I apologize," he murmured, his bariton

hit my feverish skin, but as he rubbed it in, the

issed, shif

large hand over, my thumb tracing the thick, unnatural callu

n," I asked lazily, "aren't you a legitimate businessman? Why do

replaced by a lethal, icy void. He snatched his hand back, his ja

s, letting the silk slip lower. The silence between us was no longer just u