Chapter 2

I ended up on a city bus, not knowing or caring where it was going. The city lights blurred into streaks of color through my tears. My mind was a vortex of his words: It has only ever been you.

The bus stopped, and I got off without thinking, finding myself in a trendy part of town filled with art galleries. A sign on one of them caught my eye: Erlene Fulton: A Retrospective.

I was pulled inside as if by an invisible string. A cheerful guide greeted me.

"Welcome! Are you here for the private viewing? Ms. Fulton is so talented. Especially her portraits. She says her muse is the great love of her life, a man who waited for her for years."

My eyes landed on the first painting. It was Carter, lounging on a sofa, a lazy smile on his face. I knew that smile. He' d given it to me just last week when I' d brought him breakfast in bed.

I recognized the mole by his left eye, a detail only someone who had spent hours staring at his face would know.

There were more. A dozen of them. Carter on a balcony overlooking the city. Carter laughing, his head thrown back. Carter sleeping.

And on the small plaque next to each painting, there was a date.

My eyes scanned the dates, my heart sinking with each one. They were all from the past two months. The same two months since Erlene had returned. The same two months I had been a prisoner of my family' s "concern" after our argument, locked in my room at my father's house "for my own good."

I remembered begging Carter to get me out, and he had come, playing the part of the rescuer. He' d told me he had to calm my family down, that it was the only way.

"They're just worried about you, Darline. Let things cool off for a few days."

While I was locked away, believing he was protecting me, he was here. With her. Posing for these intimate portraits. His supposed protection was just a way to keep me out of sight so he could be with his true love.

The lie was so complete, so all-encompassing, it stole the air from my lungs.

Anger, cold and hard, replaced the despair. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms. I couldn't look at them anymore.

I turned and walked out of the gallery, my purpose clear.

The first thing I did was call a clinic and make an appointment. I couldn't bring a child into this world of deceit, tied forever to a man who saw us as nothing more than tools.

The second thing I did was plan to go home. There was one thing I needed to retrieve before I disappeared forever: my mother' s diary. It was the only piece of her I had left.

When I arrived at the grand house that had been my prison for four years, Clemma was at the door, blocking my way.

"Darline! What are you doing here?"

"I need to get something from my room."

"Not right now," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Erlene is resting. The doctor said she needs absolute quiet. It would be best if you stayed away for a few days."

I saw right through her. They wanted me gone so Erlene could move in, could erase every trace of me from the house, from Carter' s life.

"Of course," I said, my voice eerily calm. "Whatever is best for Erlene."

My compliance surprised her. It was so out of character for the girl who had fought them just weeks ago.

"That's a good girl," she said, patting my arm. "Why don't you come to her farewell party tomorrow night? We're throwing a little something to celebrate her life."

Celebrate her life. The irony was suffocating.

I went back to the small apartment Carter kept for "business." I started packing a small bag, putting everything he had ever given me into a large trash bag. The jewelry, the designer clothes, the expensive trinkets.

I found a small, worn teddy bear at the back of the closet. He' d won it for me at a carnival two years ago. It was the first time I' d seen him truly laugh, carefree and happy. I had thought it was the start of something real.

Just as I was about to put the bear in the trash bag, the door opened.

It was Carter.

He looked at the packed suitcase and the bags of discarded gifts. A look of genuine shock crossed his face.

"Darline? What is this?"