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Julian Wheeler sneered, his full weight pressing down on the concrete beam that pinned me. His voice was
a shard of ice.
“Give me a break, Rosalie. You think I don’t know you? You’ve already found a safe spot. Who do you think you’re fooling with this little act?”
He stomped his feet for emphasis, sending a shower of fine, gritty dust raining down on my face. The agony of splintered bone ripped a scream from my throat.
I tried to shield my stomach, a futile gesture. I already knew. My baby was gone.
Julian pulled his precious Sybil up to stand beside him on the very beam that was crushing me.
“The earthquake must have terrified you,” he murmured to her, his voice suddenly gentle. “Don’t worry. I’m
here now.”
Sybil Bristow, a portrait of tragic beauty, collapsed into his arms. “Julian, darling, I’m so scared,” she sobbed “The stones… they scratched me. What if I’m scarred? What if you don’t love me anymore?”
He kissed away her tears. “Never. No matter what, you’ll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me.” His eyes flicked back to me, contemptuous. “Unlike this manipulative bitch. Found the perfect angle didn’t you? Almost looks like you’re really trapped.”
He kicked the beam, a deliberate, jarring motion. “Is this what it’s about? Another desperate play for my atte ntion? Just like the first time you threw yourself at me. Well, let me tell you, Rosalie, it won’t work again. The only one for me is Sybil.”
Sybil burrowed deeper into his embrace, her voice a watery whisper. “Julian, darling, I was so frightened. Anc just now… Rosalie… she tried to push-”
She let the sentence hang, an open invitation for his imagination to fill in the blanks.
But a member of the rescue team, his face tight with fury, cut them off. “Get off of her, now! If you don’t
move, you’re going to kill them both-the mother and the child!”
Julian laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. “A woman like her? She’s better off dead. Does she really think she’s worthy of carrying a Wheeler heir?”
And in that moment, nestled in Julian’s arms, Sybil mouthed two words to me, a triumphant smirk on her face.
I won.
Yes. She had won.
I remembered the moment just before the world started to shake. She had leaned in close, her voice a ven-
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Chapter 1
omous whisper. “Why don’t we play a little game? When the quake hits, who do you think Julian will save
first? You, or me?”
And then, I felt two distinct pairs of hands shove me from both sides, sending me stumbling into the open…
The rescuer’s patience snapped. He was about to shout at them again, to drag them away.
But I turned my head, tears finally tracing paths through the grime on my cheeks.
“Save her first,” I whispered.
As the words left my lips, another tremor shook the ground.
This time, Julian scrambled, pulling Sybil off the beam. Another slab of concrete crashed down onto it, righ where they had been standing. The impact sent a fresh wave of agony through me. I bit my lip, refusing to
make a sound.
A warm wetness began to spread beneath me.
Julian, standing safely to the side, sneered again. “Wow, you really commit to the part, don’t you? Even go the fake blood packets ready. When you’re done playing, crawl out from under there and beg Sybil for forgiv eness. If you don’t, I’ll show you what it feels like to be crushed for real.”
I said nothing. As I watched him shield Sybil like a priceless treasure, leading her away from the wreckage, found I no longer had the energy to fight him. Not anymore.
closed my eyes, shutting them out.
A love so skewed was never meant for me.
Julian Wheeler, I’m done with you. I let you go.
