As Miles heads onto the campaign trail, I go along with him. By day, I watch him give his speeches. By night, we fall into hotel beds together, sweaty and sated. It’s a good existence.Miles’s charisma is back, and he easily charms anyone he talks to. Having Selena at the campaign rallies, opening f
With my phone pressed to my ear, I listen to it ring. Around me, the hospital hallway is busy, nurses and doctors hurrying around, going about their business. Standing outside of Thea’s room, I watch my parents worry as they watch her in her bed. I’m worried too, which is why I’m so desperate
“It will be okay, honey,” Mom says. Dad stands stoic nearby. Watching them near the doorway, I feel a bit like an outside looking in at my own family. I wrap my arms around myself and stay where I am, afraid to come too close and intrude on this moment. I stay there a few moments, before Thea fa
On my way back to the hospital, I think over and over what I might tell my parents and Thea. Engaged to a candy empire heiress, Garnar has no reason to accept my father’s pitiful sum. There’s really no way to spin this. Garnar is not going to return to Thea’s life no matter what Dad offers. I gu
No. I’m not abandoning my sister. She and the baby are fine; she just needs to relax. She told me I could get back on the trail with Miles. She already has Mom and Dad hovering around her. Would another person truly help? “If something else happens, I will come back,” I tell them. “I’m not disappe
As the primary election day draws nearer, Miles and I return to DC to help prepare for the big day. At the office, the vibe in the office is tense. Even I feel filled with uneasy nerves. This is the first real hurdle in Miles’s campaign. We have a lot of support but there’s no guarantee. If Miles
“Right. Of course.” As I hurry back down the hall, humiliated, I try to convince myself that I won’t be cringing about this encounter for the rest of my life. Somehow, I don’t quite convince myself. I drive to my parents’ house. Before I even finish parking in their wraparound driveway, I see th
I’m worried about Thea, but knowing our parents are unlikely to mistreat her, I pull myself back into my car and force myself to drive away. There’s nothing I can do if Mom won’t let me see her. I hope she at least knows that I tried to come and visit. Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference. Maybe ou
“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