One month before my fiancé and I were set to get our marriage license, my three brothers gathered my adopted sister, Ivy, and me in our parents’ memorial room. They told us we were to draw lots to decide our husbands.
“Whoever draws the card with Hayden Grant’s name marries him,” Adrian said. “The other one signs a prenuptial agreement with Sebastian Quinn, the terminally ill heir to the Quinn family.”
Sebastian Quinn was dying. Marrying him meant becoming a young widow, bound to the Quinn family for life.
This time, I stepped back and let Ivy draw first.
The room filled with relieved sighs.
Adrian turned to comfort me. “You’re a true Sterling. Even if you’re widowed, you’ll still be able to make a suitable match.”
“But Ivy is different,” Julian added. “Her position in this family has always been delicate. We can’t rest easy unless we secure her future with someone we trust.”
Hayden chimed in. “If it comes to that, after Sebastian dies, I can maintain a marriage in name only with Ivy and keep you by my side. I’ll make sure you want for nothing.”
I didn’t argue. I didn’t make a scene. I just nodded.
None of them knew I had already discovered that both cards in the box had Hayden Grant’s name on them. Whoever drew first was guaranteed to get him.
They also didn’t know that after the wedding, the Quinns would move their entire business operation to Miami. Once Sebastian died, I would be silenced by their illicit family customs.
Later, on the day I was meant to return for a family dinner after the wedding, my three brothers waited outside for me.
But the car that was supposed to bring me home never arrived, not even after the New York snow piled past their knees.
The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 18 My breath caught. Marrying Sebastian had been my only way out of the Sterling family. Now I had the signed settlement agreement, and Sebastian was offering me another choice. Did I still need to stay? His profile was beautiful, his gaze gentle. Perhaps because
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 17 “By the authority vested in me by the laws of New York, I now pronounce you legally married. May the years ahead bring you peace and smooth roads, far from illness and calamity.” The words had barely ended when a bright, metallic chiming filled
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 16 The car stopped. The door opened, and a hand with long, elegant fingers was extended to me. I froze. I had heard Sebastian was terribly ill. Who was this? “I came to meet you.” His voice was low and faintly weak. It was Sebastian
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 15 The old sedan had just turned onto Park Avenue when we saw a convoy waiting at the intersection. The men standing by the cars looked stunned when they saw our single, dilapidated vehicle. “This is Miss Sterling’s wedding car? Why is there only—” Someone
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 14 The report on the floor seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. It took him a long moment to bend down and pick it up with trembling hands. The second he read the words, he froze, as if struck by lightning. Leaning in to see,
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 13 A flash of jealousy flickered in Ivy’s eyes, but she still stepped forward to link her arm through Hayden’s. “Hayden, when are we bringing Lena back? I’ve already thought about it. When she comes home, we can let her have the south-facing master suite
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 12 Adrian stumbled as he snatched up the report. He glanced at it, and the words struck him like a bolt of lightning. [*Sebastian Quinn remains critically ill and is not expected to live much longer. Lena Sterling has informed Miami police that she is
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 11 Hayden’s breath caught. He kept his head bowed, not daring to look up. “Chairman,” he said hoarsely, “I know I was wrong. We only did it because we thought…” The words lodged in his throat. His mind was in turmoil. They had only done
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 10 “She never told us she was leaving New York, so the news was a shock to Adrian.” “Chairman, Lena is still young. She wasn’t thinking clearly. She doesn’t understand how grueling a thousand-mile trip would be, and she doesn’t realize that once she leaves,
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The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 09 “What?! When did Eleanor say that?!” For a moment, Adrian forgot himself, forgot who he was speaking to. He lunged to his feet, trying to grab the chairman’s sleeve, only to be blocked by corporate security. The back of his knees hit his chair,
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