ery

rmance of desperate relief, now lit up with a diffe

tone. He reached for the box. "Did you buy yourself something pretty

, out of his reach. A cold, venge

I said, my voic

by, you didn' t have to." He was already imagining cuff

ow,"

tically bouncing on the balls o

the air between us. "It' s a birthday p

ng a flight to a new life. The day the serum woul

y final message. My last testame

ndescending remarks about how lucky Brendan was to have a wife who loved him so much she scared hi

each, sat beside me on the couch while we watched movies we' d seen a dozen times. He was recreating the early days of our relationship, a f

touch gentle, I could almost forget the man whose hands had been on another woman' s body. As

It buzzed incessantly in my purse, a venomou

i

laying the perfect husband to my face, she was send

d right after you won the Pritzker. He said he needed someo

e needs me. He says your love is like a mon

gins, Ellery. You' re just a place

o spend so much time at the firm... and with your husband.

ned to strip away my dignity, to make me fee

sture of his manufactured affection. I was alone in the living room. My phone buzzed. I

the architect, calculated the file size, the runtime. Probably three to five minute

e. This was it. The final piece of

e play button. Brendan w

ssed

e' d claimed was for a "tech conference" last month. He was on top of her, his ba

" Kiya' s voice, breathy and g

g. He just grunted, "Don'

raid you' ll

ra, straight at me. "Sex is sex, Kiya. Love is love. They'

, as if he were discussing a business

" Kiya whined, her voice til

uck," he murmured, leaning d

"I don' t want to be your secret

have anything you want. Money, cars, a house

ked, her voice dropping to a co

years. He always put it off. "Not yet, El. The company' s in a critical ph

wn at her, a strange expression on his face. N

purred, her hand sliding down his stomach,

down, whispering something against her skin that the microphone didn' t catc

e off just as the

!" Brendan announced cheerfu

he tremor in my hands. "Whoa, El. You look

ust watching a video.

the table. His casual dismissal, his complete lack of curiosity about what could have upset m

voice hollow. "I' ll never w