te Jenn

e household staff who had materialized in the foyer. Her voice was as sharp and cold as shattered glass. "H

s Harper offered me a small, tremulous smile of pure, venomous victory. My adopti

ust be exhausted. Let'

ok of profound disappointment, as if my very pr

tting it happen. The staff, loyal to the man who signed their paychecks, began moving my clothes, my books, my

views of the city and the bed where o

chosen one into her new den. He found me standing in the middle of the cramped guest ro

You' ve moved another woman into our bed, Ga

nce wearing thin. "Harper needs to be seen her

our story? What a

matter right now! Onl

aunch, and when he was home, he was with Harper. I would hear them laughing in the living room, see them sharing meals on the terrace. Eleano

ivan had instructed her to prepare only the foods on Harper' s approved diet plan. When I tried to speak to

with Eleanor about how best to present the "new family" to the press. They saw Harper' s baby as a golden ti

home that no longer felt like mine, carrying a chi

e space. She was running her hands over my architectu

without turning around. "It' s a s

f giving anything up,"

still don' t get it, do you? You' re the past, Charlotte. I' m the future. Gabe feels a

I said, my hands clenche

edge of my drafting table. "Soon, this will be the nursery. Gabe and I were

with red-hot rage. I didn' t know what I intended to do, only t

wn on my arm, yanking me back. It was Gabe. He

ding Harper as if I were the t

re you doing?" he demanded,

cried, clutching her stomach and stumbling

yelled, struggling against

, his expression softening with concern. He rushed to her side,

a moment' s hesitation,

ust about the IPO. This wasn't a temporary arra

dn' t knock. She entered with the air of a prison warden, my

, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Your instability

nt onto the small

Gabe. You will remain married until after the IPO. You will make no public statements. You will

the final, dev

ere unfaithful to my son. She said you confessed to her that your child may not even be Gabe' s. Give

That' s a lie. That'

"The perception is what matters. Therefore, yo

adoptive parents. They wouldn' t meet my eyes. They were complicit.

haking my head in disb

don' t have a choice. The appointment is tomorrow morning. Yo