Page 114 of Savage Promises

“Sure. Throw your money around.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “You’ve got it all, don’t you? A husband who paysfor everything.”

It’s annoying to be the target of her every gripe. Ittakes a lot to hold back the tired response that Shane could have been her husband, but she dideverythingin her power to throw that opportunity away. She also doesn’t understand what it’s taken for me to pull my life together.

“Please eat the soup. I’ll check on you before I leave,” I say, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

“I said, I’m not hungry!” She shakes her head, letting the hair fall back into her eyes.

I leave the bedroom, my heart heavy with guilt and frustration.

Downstairs, I’m startled to still hear arguing in Dad’s office. Quiet as a mouse, I listen at the door. The muffled sound of Garrett’s raw barking and my father’s slurred growls don’t give me a clue what the hell they’re talking about.

I knock and step inside. “Hi. I just stopped by to check on Neve. She doesn’t look like she’s eating much. I want to remind you two that she’s injured. She’s hurting. She needs care.”

Garrett grabs my arm, yanking me inside before I can react. He slams the door shut and locks it.

“What the hell?” I yank out of his grasp, but I’m pushed into a seat across from my father.

“You tell her, Dad.” Garrett hovers over my shoulder. “She won’t say no to you.”

I shudder, thinking they were arguing over Neve’s additional medical expenses and want more money from me.

“Look, Neve’s school is picking up the rest of her medical bills and—” I start, but I’m cut off.

“This is not about Neve’s accident,” Dad blurts, the corner of his lips curling in restrained anger.

“I can get you out of that marriage,” Garrett says, sitting next to me, rubbing his hands together. “And get paid.”

A shiver runs down my spine. I... I don’t want out of my marriage. I just want this wall between Shane and me to go away.

But that wall is named Donnelly.

“Garrett, I don’t want—”

“Let your brother talk,” Dad snaps, his eyes cold and calculating. “Did you know about the cheating clause in your prenup?”

“Cheatingclause?” I cry out. “Inmyprenup?”

“Neve found it in the dressing room at the church,” Dad says wryly. “There’s a clause in there about cheating.”

The lack of boundaries astonishes me. “I’m not cheating on my husband.”

“Not you. Him,” Dad drawls, smirking. “If Shane cheats, you walk away with a big settlement. Neat little exit strategy, don’t you think?”

The words hit me like a slap. “That can’t be in my prenup.Hislawyer drew up the terms.”

“Oh, it’s in there.” Dad’s voice drips with malice. “Shane probably put it in there himself. Gave himself a way to cut you loose when he’s done playing house with you.”

I shake my head, my voice trembling. “Shane would never cheat on me.”

“You think you’re so special,” my father snorts. “You’re a placeholder for the real wife he’ll want to marry one day.”

My throat goes tight, unable to believe my father thinks Shane would not only cast me aside but that he sees me as some temporary wife. He wantedmeall along. He said our marriage is forever.

But I’ve been pushing him away. And I don’t know what to make of this cheating clause. I never read the prenup, never sent it to a lawyer, or I wouldn’t beblindsided like this. I trusted Shane.

I stare at my father and shake my head to keep arguing. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Shane and I are happy.”

Even as I say it, I know it’s not the absolute truth.

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