HAVEN Her hand was cold, and I adjusted her blanket to cover her arm. The lawyers had come in and refused to admit any fault of the hospital, even though Cynthia had her ID on her and even knew one of the paramedics who brought her in for them to have given the hospital her name. They should ha
BEN Haven was empty for the next few weeks as she flew back and forth, cleaning out the house her ex-husband had left her. It had been Cynthia’s home, too, and Haven had been taking extra care and devotion to ensuring things were handled and gone through properly. I had gone with her a few times,
HAVEN ONE MONTH LATER My eyes kept moving from the woman before me to the clock on the wall behind her. I wanted to be here, but I had more important places to be. She had run over with her last client, which made us run over and caused me to be late for an important game. Ben had been stressin
EPILOGUE “Go, go, go!” Sebastian screamed from next to me, standing and leaning over the person in front of him as if Ben could hear him over the crowd and the glass. Then again, with how loud the man was, he just might. I had only known Bash in passing from when I worked for Ben as his assista
BAILEEI held my breath as the housekeeper pushed open the hotel room door. The woman gave me a pitying look as I slipped her the cash I had promised in exchange for her help getting into my husband’s luxury suite. Caleb had been so rushed for his ‘urgent business meeting’ that he had forgotten his laptop. Like the loving wife I was, I raced over to grab it for him. I had made it my goal to make his life at home as easy on him as possible by helping where I could with the cooking and cleaning since he worked so hard to provide for us. It was never good enough for him, but little things like bringing him his laptop would surely make him happy.Only I had frozen in horror when I saw the messages popping up on his computer from his phone. The smiling, poorly clad woman stared back at me. I could see her nipps through her lace underwear, and she had one hand down between her legs, covering herself.His assistant. Lorna: I got your gift. I’m at the Rosewood Hotel. Don’t make me wait
BAILEE“Bailee!” Caleb yelled as I threw open the door and rushed down the hall.I needed fresh air. It felt like the walls were closing in on me, and I could hear my blood pumping in my ears.“Bailee, would you stop for a minute?” The sound of my name on his lips as he zipped his pants made me feel queasy, but I held it down. A hand wrapped around my forearm, and I was yanked to a stop just before the elevator. “No!” My scream came out in a hoarse sob. “No! Get off of me, you lying piece of garbage!” The rage and venom behind my words made him release me immediately, but he stayed close as he glared down at me. I took a step back, shaking my head at him. “You don’t get to touch me. You don’t get to ever touch me again!” The elevator dinged behind me, and the doors opened, but I didn’t pay any attention to the people getting off until I heard them speak. “Bailee! Lower your voice! That is no way to speak to your husband!” “Mom?” Caleb asked, and I turned to face Helen and Georg
BAILEE“You must be out of your mind!” Helen yelled, but I didn’t spare her a glance. This wasn’t between her and me…even though she wanted it to be.She thought the world revolved around her, the perfect senator’s wife. She loved putting on her over-priced, costume-looking jewelry and acting like she was the queen.Yet, her favorite pastime was picking fights, throwing little digs at me, and insisting everything I did was wrong.Much to her dismay, this was between Caleb and me, and I refused to let her be involved this time. He had dragged her into everything else. Mommy’s little boy.Only, he looked stunned as he stared at me, dumbfounded that I would be so bold as to bring up divorce myself, especially in front of his parents.“Don’t be foolish, Bailee!” Helen spat. “You have a child together! Divorce is not an option! That’s just lazy. You are lazy!”I stared at her unbelieving what she said. Since the day he introduced me to his family, Helen Johnson had hated me. She threw litt
BAILEEI went home alone that night. The backstabbing nanny was already fast asleep like she was deliberately avoiding me, and as much as I wanted to confront her for what she had done, I moved past her room and into mine. I was hurt, angry, and exhausted. After a long, hot shower, I had curled up in my empty bed and muffled my sobs with my pillow, so I wouldn’t wake Brinley, until I fell asleep.The cold sheets sent a chill through me as I rolled over in bed, my head pounding from crying myself to sleep.I was so angry at myself for letting it get this far, so angry at him for not even trying to make this work, and for throwing away our family like it meant nothing to him. There had been signs and red flags throughout our relationship that should have had me packing up and leaving.But I was stubborn, refusing to give up on the years we had spent together. I fought to make things better, over and over again, ignoring all the ways Caleb had mistreated me and ran straight toward that
EPILOGUE “Go, go, go!” Sebastian screamed from next to me, standing and leaning over the person in front of him as if Ben could hear him over the crowd and the glass. Then again, with how loud the man was, he just might. I had only known Bash in passing from when I worked for Ben as his assista
HAVEN ONE MONTH LATER My eyes kept moving from the woman before me to the clock on the wall behind her. I wanted to be here, but I had more important places to be. She had run over with her last client, which made us run over and caused me to be late for an important game. Ben had been stressin
BEN Haven was empty for the next few weeks as she flew back and forth, cleaning out the house her ex-husband had left her. It had been Cynthia’s home, too, and Haven had been taking extra care and devotion to ensuring things were handled and gone through properly. I had gone with her a few times,
HAVEN Her hand was cold, and I adjusted her blanket to cover her arm. The lawyers had come in and refused to admit any fault of the hospital, even though Cynthia had her ID on her and even knew one of the paramedics who brought her in for them to have given the hospital her name. They should ha
HAVEN Sitting in the airport in the middle of the night with a toddler who got angry each time the loudspeaker called for another flight and disturbed her sleep was not what I had been prepared for. My mind was a foggy mess. All I could picture was Cynthia falling down the stairs. How long had sh
BEN Being excited about an ex getting involved in my life might not have been the best thing when things were already tense, but fuck did it feel good to know I did indeed have friends in high places and they were watching my back. Was I still expecting them to hold it over me and try to get me t
BEN It was odd pulling up to the house and finding there wasn’t a single paparazzi in sight. After today’s news, I expected them to be ready to break down my gate for a story, but no one was there. Instead, a blacked-out SUV sat across the street, and my stomach twisted when I realized it was pro
HAVEN I needed to get out of the house. Staying inside was driving me crazy, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My last job interview was a week ago, and while I keep applying, no one wants to hire the woman all over the tabloids with a sex tape. Our PR team managed to get it taken down, but it stil
BEN “Rangers player Benjamin Evans is today’s hot topic. Now fans were petitioning for him to be traded for his performance last season. Even I wanted him gone, and I’ve followed his career since he was being scouted.” The reporters around him laughed, and I gritted my jaw. “I know. I remember hi