Contract Bride: Rising From The Shadows

The speedometer read 105 mph. The trees on the side of the Hamptons highway were a green blur.

Dosha gripped the handle above the door. Her knuckles were white.

Casper stared straight ahead. His grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to snap the leather. He was furious. Not because she tried to leave, but because his mother had tried to take something that belonged to him.

The car's Bluetooth system chimed. Incoming Call: Charlie.

Casper didn't tap the screen to decline fast enough. The call connected.

"Casper!" Charlie's voice boomed through the surround sound speakers. "Dude, Sienna is loving the necklace! She's posting stories from the yacht. She wants to know when you're coming over?"

The air in the car turned solid.

Dosha looked out the window. A bitter smile touched her lips.

"And hey," Charlie continued, oblivious. "Did the invisible wife freak out? Giving Sienna three mil and the wife fifty grand... that is savage, man. You are cold."

Casper hit the End Call button. The silence that followed was louder than the engine.

"So everyone knows," Dosha said softly. "The market value is public knowledge."

Casper slammed on the brakes. The car skidded, tires screeching on the asphalt, pulling onto the gravel shoulder.

He turned to her. His eyes were black pits.

"Shut up. You almost cost me fifty percent of my voting rights back there."

"You tore up my freedom!" Dosha yelled. "That was my money!"

"Is that all you are?" Casper shouted back. "A ledger? A balance sheet?"

"Yes!" Dosha screamed. "Because that's all you made me! What else is there? Do you want me to love you? While you buy diamonds for your mistress?"

Casper flinched. The truth hit him like a physical blow. He unlocked the doors.

"Get out."

Dosha blinked. "What?"

"Get out of the car."

"We are twenty miles from the city. It's about to rain."

"Walk," Casper said. "Think about your ROI while you walk."

Dosha looked at him. She saw the cruelty in his jaw. She realized, finally, that there was no bottom to this.

She grabbed her purse. She opened the door.

Asset, in the back seat, whined and tried to scramble forward to follow her.

Casper hit the central lock button. The back doors clicked shut.

"No," Casper said. "The dog stays."

Dosha stood on the side of the road. "Casper, give me the dog."

He didn't look at her. He floored the gas pedal. The car shot forward, kicking up gravel and dust, leaving her standing alone in the sudden silence.

A drop of rain hit her cheek. Then another.

Dosha took off her heels. She held them in one hand. She stepped onto the rough asphalt with her bare feet.

She started walking.