ry

low. The air rushed out of my lungs, leaving a hollow ache in its place. I

here and play with your new space station, okay, ba

e etched with worry. "You promise

kissing his forehead. "Thr

an the last. Blake was waiting for me at the entrance to the study. He grabbed my arm, h

heory were gone from the shelves, replaced by fashion magazines and romance novels. A pink, fluffy throw blanket

on a whiteboard, Blake watching me with a look of pure awe. "You' re a goddamn genius, Avery Wade," he' d breath

throwing a file onto the desk. It wa

y voice eerily calm. "I

e' s some kind of... inconvenience?" He pointed a finger at my face. "Let me be clear. You wil

ers?" I asked, the w

ort. You will remain Mrs. Blake Davenport. You will play the part of

voice flat. "But there' s a critical flaw in the latest data set. I need

moment, I thought he' d refuse. But the thought of his

I' ll take her," he said, his priorities sickeningly

shrew, and Cassidy as a helpless victim. He was blind to

ed awake by a piercing

om door flew open and Blake stormed in. He grabbed me by

r?" he bellowed, his f

e cried, trying to pull Blake' s hand away from my hair. Blake sh

to my feet, positioning myself between Bla

his eyes wild. "She' s too innocent.

s open. She was on the floor, her wrist bleeding onto the pristine white carpet. A shar

eyes. "I just... I can' t take it anymore. She said... she said yo

ome scene. But I saw it. I saw the shallow cut, the carefully placed glass shard, the c

ught every s

okay, little bird. I' ve got you." He glared at me over her

ld staff to call an ambulance. A pair of his bodyguards flank

Blake was pacing back and forth, a distraught wreck, while Cassidy was whisked away by a team of doctors. He had bough

ng and turned to me, hi

ren' t you?" he said, his

ded hospital corridor, he grabbed the collar of my silk pajama to

er my exposed chest. He grabbed my wr

ce inches from mine. "Let them see the

ed, my voice barely a whisp

y tipped off by his own PR team, had arrived. They swarme

nded, his voice dange

sion. "You're my hu

hat do

ered, the words a hollow

me bare from the waist up in the harsh, fluorescent light. The came

promise. "I' m going to strip you of everything. Your name, your d

urmur. "And all mine." He was obsessed with my body, possessive and territorial. Now, he was the one ex

ntrollably as I fumbled to pull the t

n my ear. "The photos are already online.

oor. I managed a weak, rattling laugh that sounded more like a sob. I clutched my chest, a physical pain blooming t