LOGINHe leans forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial, deeply unsettling whisper as he stares directly into my green contact lenses. "In fact... you don't have to be a maid at all, Candy. I can make all of this manual labor disappear with a single phone call. If you can just agree to be my pri
"Look, Naomi, if Dennise catches you in here, she’s going to—" The distinct, heavy sound of the deadbolt locking echoes through the quiet kitchen. My entire body goes completely rigid. My instincts scream at me, a cold shock of adrenaline instantly shooting straight to my fingertips. That isn't th
I smooth down the front of my oversized, scratchy maid uniform, my fingers tracing the small bruise on my chest from where Caroline's finger violently ripped my dress open at the cemetery yesterday. My skin still feels raw from the humiliation, my eyes are burning from crying all night over Owen, a
The striking, facial structure. Sydney is an absolute, undeniable replica of the woman in the vintage photograph—Tobias’s mother. The almost psychotic protectiveness Tobias has shown toward Sydney from the very first moment he met her. The massive financial safety nets he threw under her, the fact
Before I can even open my mouth to apologize for breaking into his house, Tobias speaks. His voice is incredibly quiet, completely devoid of its usual sharp authority, yet it carries a heavy, haunting weight that pins me right to the carpet. "For years..." he murmurs, his finger continuing its slow
I stand frozen on the gravel path, the engine of Sydney’s departing car roaring in my ears. I watch the taillights of her vehicle bounce over the cemetery threshold, disappearing completely from sight, and with every inch of distance she puts between us, my heart shatters into a million jagged, irre
Ding! The sound of the café bell has me looking up, and when I spot the man that walks through the doors, I stand up immediately. Nicholas Chase was my senior back in school, and one of my good supporters back when my acting career took a negative hit that forced me into a hiatus. His black hair
"What?" "I want a divorce," I repeat. Deckard remains frozen, staring at me as if I’ve suddenly started speaking a foreign language. His eyes search my face, looking for the crack, the moment where I’ll break into a sob and tell him I didn't mean it. Then, he chuckles. "Oh, don't be dramatic, no
Divorce. That's the only way forward, isn't it? I'm still standing and staring mute at the photo album in my hands. It doesn't make sense. Deckard? Georgia? How...? When? But even as I turn it over in my mind, I know deep down that it all makes sense. Yes, Deckard cared for me, but can I confide
Today makes it three years since I got married to Deckard Newton, and I have only one goal in mind. Seduce him till he can't resist me. You see, in our years of marriage, Deckard and I have never been intimate. It’s not like he doesn’t want me. I mean, I’ve caught him jerking off to my pictures on







