ear. He whispered a name, his voice a soft, tender murmur s

itt

inside. Her body went rigid. All the fight drained out of her, replaced by a profound, arctic cold.

and was instantly absorbed by the dark velvet o

out, her voice a raw, broken thing. "Why ar

. He tightened his grip on her jaw. "What, are you jealous?" he sneered. "You don't

felt like she was suffocating. She couldn't argue, beca

sed, his voice dripping with contempt. "Don't f

in her memory, pulling her ba

ionary tale. A series of bad investments had led to a catastrophic collapse, a bankruptcy that sent shockwaves through

on Evelyn's twenty-year-old shoulders. As if that wasn't enough, her mother, Eleanor, weakened by grief,

her car. The debutante became a ghost, working multiple jobs to keep her mother alive. Days were spent at the hospital, h

Francisco Morgan. The man she had secretly admired from afar for years. He was the

ack in a messy bun. He was in a bespoke suit, the center of a glittering

on in them, just the cool, detached appraisal one might give a piece of furniture. She wasn't

shame, she waited for him in the parking garage. She stepped in fron

ked him for money. She would never forget the look in his eyes as he sat in

sing her feelings for the man she loved. But reality had forced her