‘Holy shit,’ I thought blankly to myself. ‘He does remember me.” Part of me wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or not. It had been over six years since we last saw each other. James had no real reason to remember who I was. Back then, I was just an ordinary, overweight girl who always f

I was devastated. Shocked. Furious. Completely shattered. It was as if the world around me came to a sudden stand-still and I was stuck frozen in time, being forced to bear witness to the terrible sight in front of me. All that time during Peter’s disappearance, I was convinced that something ho

My heart slammed violently against my ribcage in utter panic as I glared down at James in sheer disbelief. “James,” I hissed between my teeth. “What the hell are you doing? You know damn well we’re already going to end up on the front cover of tomorrow’s newspaper.” “Sweetheart, the longer you h

Albert was still eyeing the salesman with an authoritative stare. The man was rushing now to remove the necklace from the case, and held it out to me. Suddenly it didn’t look so appealing and pretty. “I wish you wouldn’t make this into such a thing,” I said to Albert quietly, waving off the necklace.“You’re my wife now, in every sense except the paperwork. You agreed to the terms. You’ll need to learn to adjust to being Mrs. Derek, and Mrs. Derek does not tolerate, nor should she, any disrespect. You’re better than that.”Everyone was still staring.The manager, who had noticed the scene, came forward and began his own spew of apologies to us both. “Miss, please, if you’ll allow me,” he gushed, taking my arm and leading me toward an especially glittery case in the middle of the store.Albert, however, seemed satisfied with the flood of respect and reverence. The manager began opening the cases and pulling out rings as big as walnuts, setting them in a bright sharp line on the top of

I snapped my head around to face him and glared. “No, James! This is stretching things too far. You can’t just make all of these major decisions and expect me to go home with you,” I stated. “You are going to take me back home—to my home! Now!” Of course, James kept his demeanor resolute while I w