her limbs was profound, a deep, cellular exhaustion that went beyond simple blood loss. She bypassed the kitchen, the th

bed, not even bothering to pull back the heavy silk comforter. She curled in

e altar, handsome and remote in his tuxedo. She heard the priest's voice, and then Julian's, saying the words, "I do."

ng jolted

stumbled into the room, silhouetted against the dim light from the hallway.

as J

harsh, unwelcome glare. His tie was askew, his top button u

spinning. "You've been drinking,

she couldn't decipher. It looked like anger, but it was messier, more chaotic. He ripped

whiskey was now mixed with something else-a faint, flo

nd hauled her out of her curled position. The s

him. The combination of alcohol and another woman's scent w

against his chest, her voice rising in panic. "Stop it! I jus

the air between them, unspoken but overwhelmingly pre

bitter laugh bubbled up in her throat. She sto

h a sarcasm born of utter despair. "Is Ava still too w

ith rage. He seized her jaw, his fingers digging into her skin, forcing her

voice a low growl. "You are

r prenuptial agreement says nothing about me having to to

His face went blank, the drunken anger replaced by a cold, predatory

ss, the one she hadn't had the strength to remove. Th

se, her gaze fixed on a crack in the ornate ceiling plaster. Her body was here, enduring this violation, but h

ess act of possession.

se to her ear, his breath hot and ragged. In a

va

truck the hollow shell of her body a

ing swam before her. It was all a joke. Her life,

tion she had harbored for this man, was extinguis

ment, stopped beating

vy, and was asleep within moments, a

pushed his arm off her and slid to the far edge of the bed. She curled up, her arms wra

usband. The man she had loved for two years. He

told herself

s wide open, watching the shadows in the room

he gap in the curtains. It illuminated the dust mot

as over. It was