Ashley bit her lip until she tasted copper. Jake had drained her bank account, stripped her of everything she owned, reduced her to little more than a servant in her own husband's mansion. And now—now—he was going to marry her stepsister? Was nothing sacred to this man? Over the past year, Jake had come undone. Scarlet had spent that same year pouring wild parties, drugs, and liquor into him like poison into a well, until something inside him simply rotted through. He could make Ashley disappear, just like that, and not a soul would blink. Ashley exhaled, long and shaking. She wanted out. She wanted to sign these papers—not for him, never for him, but for herself. She was done bleeding for a marriage built on lies. Done. Finished. Enough. "Jake." Her voice shook, but she didn't look away. "I loved you. I gave you everything I had. And you're a liar, a crook—conspiring with my own stepsister, and now you're going to marry her? How do you even look at yourself?" "You have only yours

The Palmer Estate sprawled across three thousand acres, a kingdom unto itself. At its heart stood Palmer House—a Chateauesque mansion raised between 1856 and 1892 by Reginald Palmer, the family's long-dead founder. It was the largest privately owned house in the city—over fifty thousand square feet of marble and money. Jake Grayson might have been the richest man in Norwich, but the Palmers were royalty. Ashley was ushered into the house by a head butler she didn't recognize. "Who are you?" she asked, puzzled. "Where is Marvin?" Marvin had been the head butler at the mansion even before Ashley was born. He had practically raised her after her mother passed away. The man's eyes raked over her—shabby clothes, hair that hadn't seen shampoo in weeks—and his frown deepened. She was wealthy again, technically. She just hadn't had the time, or the will, to look it. "I'm Levi," he replied, trying hard not to be rude. "Miss Scarlet asked Marvin to retire after Mr. Arthur passed away. He'd

Ashley jolted awake, gasping, her heart slamming against her ribs. A second ago she'd been cold—dying cold, the kind that gets into your bones and stays. Now she was warm. Flushed. Alive. As her eyes adjusted to the light, Ashley realized, with mounting confusion, that she was sitting on a toilet, trousers and panties around her ankles. What the hell? Did she fall asleep while taking a leak? That would be ridiculous. What had just happened to her was too real to have been a nightmare! Her own family had killed her. Scarlet. Mary. The monsters who'd worn her family's faces. She pulled up her clothes, flushed the toilet, and left the cubicle, then realized she was in the executive washroom of the Grayson building. Jake's company? How? Why? "I'll splash some water on my face," Ashley told herself. "That should help me get my bearings." Ashley crossed to one of the luxurious Whitehaus basins and looked into the mirror—and nearly lost her footing. It wasn't possible. She looke

"Whoa—that's a surprise," Jake said, startled. Before their marriage, he'd always been the one in control, Ashley remembered, almost fondly. He'd never once complained back then. Of course he hadn't. He'd already had his eyes on the real prize: her inheritance. "An eye for an eye," Ashley said with a grin, pulling out his erect member. She marveled at the size and mentally patted herself on the back. Jake would turn out to be a rotten guy down the road, but for now, he was a Chad. Ashley wet her right hand, grabbed his monstrosity, and slid up and down slowly for several minutes. Then she picked up the pace, jerking him off faster. Jake closed his eyes and leaned back. Before long, she'd sped things up even more. What was the hurry? "Hey, slow down there, cowgirl!" Jake pleaded, breathless. But Ashley's hand kept pumping up and down like a plunger, sending him climbing toward orgasm faster. And then it happened. Jake exploded. Ashley dodged at the right moment, and his load splatt

"Get inside, now!" Ashley screamed, lunging at Tessa and shoving her bodily through the door. Tessa stumbled, startled, and they both went down in a tangle on the floor. Ashley was up in an instant, slamming the door and throwing the lock, her face white with terror. "Listen…" Tessa mumbled, getting to her feet. "You're being weird, Ash. Please let me be and leave my room. Aren't you supposed to be on your pre-wedding date with Jake?" "I have an important photo shoot with Teen Vogue. I know you're the Palmer Princess, but you can't bully me like this! Not even as a prank!" Ashley turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Do they call me the Palmer Princess? That's a terrible moniker." Tessa bit her lip and scoffed. "Aren't you acting like a spoiled princess right now? Locking me in my own hotel room? What's wrong with you? Has the anxiety of marriage gone to your head? Are you going to dump my brother?" Ashley shook her head. "I'm trying to save you, so don't get in the way. Your Tee