Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

out and get the shot so I was protected against that. We were

so desperately unhappy.

“Your father knew everything. He was my best friend and I

told him all of it. When my father died, the restaurant was

thriving. Your dad knew I had an out. That I could and would

divorce Henry. I was struggling with it. I didn’t really love my

father. He was a hard, horrible man. He was unkind. He was

also fairly unscrupulous. He didn’t have an ounce of

compassion to wring from him. Henry was kind of the same.

He did things that were…that no wife should have to endure. I

was unwilling, and I guess he forced me. Did I tell anyone?

No. Not even your dad. He just knew how unhappy I was. I

was struggling. My father had just died, and my family was

struggling to keep the business together—it was just my mom

and my sister and they really didn’t know how to run things. I

was busy with the restaurant, and I really didn’t have a clue

either. My sister was too young at the time to want to take on

any responsibility. Your dad hit me at my lowest point. When

it happened, the restaurant temporarily closed down. I felt like

I’d lost everything. That was my breaking point. The point

where I just snapped, and everything fell in on itself.

“Your dad had this plan to get on track, but my heart just

wasn’t in it. I was devastated. I think the writing was on the

wall anyway. My marriage ended. I got the divorce I wanted.

The family business needed me. My family needed me. I had

to become something I never wanted to be.”

Claire finally looked up at Haley. Tears swam in her huge

blue eyes. Eyes that reminded Claire so much of the sound.

She’d chosen the house because she loved it so much. She

liked it because it was always different, always powerful,