The 23rd Deletion Bride novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Stairs

"What letters?" I said.

Delaney opened her mouth, and Dalton cut across her before a word came out.

"She's hysterical. Somebody get her out of here."

"What letters, Delaney?"

"Linnea." Dalton caught my elbow. "Not here. Please."

His hand was tight on my arm.

The stage lights were so bright that the room beyond them had gone dark.

I pulled my arm free.

I needed air.

I turned and walked toward the lobby doors.

The guests moved out of my way, and I could hear the phones still recording.

Behind me, Cullen said something short to Dalton that I didn't catch.

Heels clicked fast on the marble.

I stepped out into the cold, onto the wide hotel steps with their brass railings.

Below me stood a line of waiting cars.

I put both hands on the rail and breathed.

The cold air was good.

I thought, one minute, and I'll go back in.

"You couldn't just stay home," Delaney said.

I turned around.

She had followed me out alone.

Her white dress had a smear of black down the front where she had wiped her eyes.

Her hair had come loose on one side.

Without the smile, her face looked tight and years older.

"Eight months," she said. "I did everything. I took his calls at midnight. I covered for his missed dinners. I made your life so small that you'd stop noticing it was gone. I was almost there."

"Almost where?"

"Mrs. Amory," she said. "He promised me that after the sale, I would be."

I didn't speak.

For one cold second, I was just a woman on a staircase hearing a stranger say she had already taken my life.

"He's married to me," I said.

"Not for long."

"Then you can wait for the divorce papers."

"I won't have to."

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