Chapter 1

Isabella yelled from the bedroom, her voice sharp.

"Ethan! Are you deaf? Jules is waiting!"

I stood in the living room of our Manhattan penthouse, a stack of company papers in my hand. Rossi Construction letterhead. My father-in-law, Michael Rossi, built this empire. He' d saved my father' s life once, an engineer in a plant accident. Before Michael died, he willed me a piece of it, a silent stake, made me a "legacy guardian." Isabella mostly ignored that.

"The papers, Izzy. Marc needs your signature."

Marc Chen, a good kid, a sharp analyst I' d helped get his start at Rossi. He was waiting downstairs, looking uncomfortable.

She swept into the room, already dressed for a flight, smelling of expensive perfume. Her eyes, usually bright and focused, were clouded with impatience. Jules Vance, her rockstar boyfriend, had thrown another tantrum. This time, he' d stormed off to a music festival in Austin.

"Just sign them, Ethan. I don't have time for this. My jet's waiting."

She grabbed the pen, scribbled her name on the top page without a glance. Then the next. And the next. Marc had reluctantly helped me slip the marital separation agreement into the pile. And documents affirming my independent stake.

"Will you be back for our anniversary?" I asked, my voice flat. "Or the Rossi Foundation gala? It' s important."

She scoffed, a small, ugly sound.

"Anniversary? Ethan, please. And the gala? Send a check. Jules needs me."

She tossed the pen onto the mahogany desk.

"Handle everything here. You' re good at that, at least."

She didn't look back as she walked out, her heels clicking on the marble floor. The door slammed shut.

I looked at the signed papers. One of them was a separation agreement. She hadn't even noticed.

Michael, her father, had wanted me to be a steadying influence. He saw me as a son. He'd hoped I could keep Isabella grounded. He was wrong. After he died, she saw our marriage as a formality, me as an obstacle. I once loved her. Deeply. Now, I just felt tired. Bound by a promise to a dead man to look out for a woman who didn't want it.