you to sign.” Giana motioned to the desk. “If you want to step
over there, I have the paperwork all ready. I figured you’d
come eventually. There are the annulment forms and the NDA.
It’s a very blanket contract, so I actually have no need to add
in what I just told you.”
She was being purposely hard, but Coralyn had seen what
Giana could be, the Giana below the surface of that pain and
anger that had lasted for two thirds of her life. She’d pushed
through, but she hadn’t come out unscathed in any way from
that wreck. It didn’t explain everything. There were no easy
explanations, but it did help Coralyn start to fathom why
Giana was that ice queen that was on top of her father’s
company, on top of the city, the woman who had everything on
the outside.
Coralyn forced herself to walk to the desk. Giana beat her
by mere steps. She slid open a drawer and produced a thick
bundle of paperwork. If Coralyn was going to read that, she’d
be there all night. Her dad had told her a thousand times, never
sign something you haven’t read. Didn’t everyone know that
rule?
Coralyn edged closer. Giana stood behind the desk. She felt
dangerous. It made Coralyn’s throat ache. Her heart felt like it
had been slammed there and was blocking her ability to
breathe. She sucked at the air anyway. Her hand trembled as
she reached for the form. “My mom died in a car accident. A
head-on collision. They said she was killed instantly.”
“But it didn’t happen during your formative years, so you
still turned out so sweet and pleasant and kind.”
“No. Because I do things like lie to someone and get them
to marry me. Although, that was all me. I fucked that up all on