ly escaped Clara's lips, sharp wi

eplied, his voice a low, even rumble. "

picture of calm control. "I nee

m, but the truth was a bitter pill in her throat. After last night, she had nowhere to go. The Fosters would never take

her, Elias Blackwood, is the chairman of the board. He's been using my unmarried stat

rate. "A sudden, whirlwind romance culminating in marriage wo

t candidate. Your background is clean, your academic record is stellar. As the matriarc

for marriage, as if he were hiring an employee, not choosing a wife. She had expected him to offer her a check, a

they would sell her to the highest bidder. There was Leo Vance, a man who now had a reason to

ian Blackwood. A man who was off

le power, "and the Foster family will never dare to touch you a

that he could make a man like Vance disappear from the New York social and busin

aintain public appearances. In private, we would lead separate lives. At the end of the year, we file for a quiet divo

chest. This wasn't a life sentence. It was a business deal. A one-

ny other merger. He was offering her a deal, and the product he was selling-the p

her. He simply sat there, sipping his coffee, his patienc

nomous smile. She could never go back there. Last night had severed that tie pe

choice, but was it re

Damian Blackwood, I'd have thought you were

. The little girl seemed quite amusing.

ike it." - In real

od looked at Clara with si

tracts, were likely more reliable than anything else in this city. This was a path

ian Blackwood,

ow. But she would be safe. She would be

shaky breath, h