“Back off, Amber,” Miles says before I can even think to open my mouth in defense of myself. “She’s obviously injured.”“She should be on her own horse,” Amber says to him, even as her sneering gaze stays on me.“Hers is that spooked horse than ran all the way up the path. Maybe you’d like to go get
“Esther,” Mr. Carver says, returning into the tent. He blocks my view of Miles and Amber, but maybe that’s for the best. Watching them was giving me strange feelings in my stomach that I’m nowhere near ready to face, let alone put a name to.“Yes, Mr. Carver?”By now the medical professionals have f
“I’ll be fine,” I tell Cynthia.Cynthia doesn’t seem particularly worried about leaving me alone with Amber. She knows I can hold my own. She’s more annoyed, I think, by the interruption.“We will be talking later,” Cynthia says as she stands. Yeah, that’s a threat.She doesn’t say a word to Amber o
But the point, I suppose, is that she does have to wait for all of that to happen. Whereas for me, that is my present reality.“As a mature woman,” Amber continues, “you should know better than to think you actually stand a chance of tempting Miles. You’d never be able to satisfy him.”He was well s
I sit in the medical tent with my thoughts for a while. The medical staff, after discussing it, have decided that a trip to the hospital is unnecessary, though if I develop even the slightest twinge of new pain, I’m to report to the ER at once.True to my promise to Mr. Carver, I remain in the medic
“I can’t prove it,” Derek says with a loud curse. “I wrote things down but I didn’t take pictures or anything.”“It’s okay,” I say. “This is a good start.”“That’s funny,” Derek says, laughing a little. “That’s what he said, too.”“Who?”“Me,” Miles says from behind me, so suddenly and clearly that
For a long moment, we don’t say anything. We just stand side by side, looking out at the crowd gathered in the courtyard of the clubhouse. Amber’s there, searching around, presumably for Miles. Among the people, I also spot Garnar and Thea. They are dancing, like they don’t have a care in the world.
With the power disparity between Garnar and me, I know I will need all the help I can get in my divorce, especially to maintain custody of my two daughters.In that regard, Miles’s offer of help is wildly generous. He doesn’t owe me anything. He’s only known me a handful of days, really. In that tim
“We should watch the rest,” I tell him, though my voice is shaky. “No,” Miles says, more firmly. I breathe a sigh of relief. For my job, I know we have to hear it. But personally, I would like to go the rest of my life without even thinking about Edward Zimmer again. “The numbers are already u
Edward’s response comes in the form of a video message. Crystal set it up on the television on the wall, while Miles and I huddle closer to the screen. Miles holds tightly onto my hand. “Whatever happens. Whatever he says. We will stand against him and we will win,” he says. I believe him. Last
How could I say anything but yes? A thousand times over, yes, yes, yes. I’ve tried so hard since that first night, sleeping with Miles while thinking him a call boy, to not fall in love with him. Yet, as hard as I tried not to, my heart kept pulling me straight back to him. My love for Miles is so
We hold the press conference in front of the headquarters, setting up a podium outside the double doors. The news media organizations have been notified, so they send reporters and cameramen, who have set up around the podium. The release we sent out already told them that the conference would be
Later, I’m going to have to have a meeting and call in all the employees to discuss this. Their care is appreciated, but I need to be able to do my job. For now, though, it seems as if Crystal gets the hint. With a shallow nod, she continues her report. “Mr. Zimmer has been quiet since the inter
Garnar, knowing I was giving a difficult interview tonight, offered to watch the kids. Since they are at Garnar’s house, I expected the house to be empty when I finally returned. Instead, I see Miles’s car parked in my driveway and the additional security staked out around the premises. It’s a rel
Jean was warned about the story, but she still gasped. My eyes went a little wide. We came here to talk about this, but Daphne’s direct wording leaves me speechless. Daphne didn’t come here just to tell a story. She was ready to reveal her truth, once and for all. “Esther and I were victims,” Da
In the Harbinger HQ, in one of the studio sets arranged to look like a fancy living room, Daphne and I sit side by side on a white couch, facing an interviewer, a woman interviewer named Jean, who sits on an arm chair facing us. The setting is intimate, and Jean is a kind, middle-aged woman, who i
“Miles…” Emotion overflows within my heart. There are so many things I want to say, to express – my gratitude, my own affections, explanations about why this has been so difficult for me to accept – yet in the moment, everything gets tangled up in my throat. “Miles…” My tears fall from my chee