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Especially children

He hadn’t been in love with her He hadn’t cared about her He loved Cammie and Travis He cared about thee

He wanted a family Children But he didn’t want her And that hurt more than she should have allowed it to

Tears burned where before she’d been too numb to feel, to absorb the swift shock of pain and devastation that had swept over her as Donovan had calmly plotted her downfall How easily she’d fallen into his hands Easy Too easy She’d given hiinity

Her love

And all he wanted from her was the children

She closed her eyes as she reached Sophie’s door, too undone to si had happened That her world hadn’t just tilted on its axis and left destruction in its wake

She thought back over every encounter with Donovan It was always about the children His concern had been for thee Someone he had to deal with in order to secure Cammie and Travis’s future

What was she supposed to do?

Her first thought was to run To take Cammie and Travis and run as far and as fast as she could and never stop again Never trust another soul But

She bowed her head, trying to get control of her raging emotions They couldn’t see her like this They’d know Cammie and Travis would know And she couldn’t let them find out what she’d heard

The but was that Cammie and Travis were better off here with him No matter what kind of bastard it s Hadn’t it been what she illing to do? Whatever she had to do to secure their future, she’d been willing to do Even if ither own

But she could not--would not--go meekly back to Walt She would not let herself be handed over like some sacrificial lamb Donovan would protect Cammie and Travis He may have betrayed her trust, but she kneouldn’t betray theirs There was conviction in his voice when he spoke to his brothers No reason for hi in his words He did love Cammie and Travis And he wouldn’t allow Walt to take theood of him, but she believed wholeheartedly that of the two choices, Walt or Donovan, Donovan was the better choice for her brother and sister

But she wasn’t Donovan’s choice

Grief welled in her heart, nearly choking her as a knot grew in her throat

She couldn’t stay here She had to go But hoould she accomplish it? How soon did Donovan plan to calmly hand her over to her stepfather? How much time did she have to come up with a plan of action?

And God, how could she possibly say good-bye to her only family? To the two people she loved most in the world and the only two people who loved her? How could she leave them with a man who’d so callously lie to and manipulate a woman as at her most vulnerable?

The lesser of the two evils It was how she had to look at the matter She knew Walt would abuse them No matter what Donovan had done to her, no matter how badly he played her, she knew deep down that he wasn’t capable of hurting Cammie or Travis

Just her

And that hurt God, it hurt more than she wanted to admit to herself She loved him And he’d totally shit on that love All that flowery bullshit about treasuring her gift of virginity How he hed himself silly over her na&iuer and devastation, she didn’t truly believe he got any real enjoy her He was ruthless, yes Perfectly capable of doing whatever was necessary to achieve his goal She was a mission and he’d made it clear that when he took on a ht He’d hat he wanted Children His own family He just hadn’t wanted her to be a part of that family

And now she had to walk inside this house and pretend to his family, a family she’d foolishly believed she’d be a part of, that her heart wasn’t breaking into a ed pieces

CHAPTER 29

"EVE! Why are you back so quickly?" Sophie asked in a startled voice when Eve entered the living rooth Eve possessed to co roo

Eve sank onto the couch before her legs gave out or gave her away by shaking uncontrollably She htly rueful smile

"I couldn’t do it," she lied "I promised to trust him He told me he’d tell ive that chance to him"

And then she wondered if he did plan to tell her anything Or would he lie? Perhaps it had been alater

Don’t be stupid

She was already trying to justify his words She had to snap out of it and think on her feet Fast

"Where did you go, Evie?" Travis asked with a frown "I looked up and you were gone"

"I just needed so Maybe I overdid it or perhaps I’ht I was"

She hated lying, but she had to set up an excuse to not share Donovan’s bed tonight She couldn’t do it She could notto do

And it wasn’t a co But not from her injury

"I understand," Sarah said quietly so Travis wouldn’t hear "He’ll tell you, Eve Donovan is a straightforward guy"

The others nodded and it was all Eve could do not to scream at them Not to tell them that it was all a lie That they were a lie The fa more than a lie

"Your head really does hurt," Rachel said shrewdly "I can see the strain in your eyes"

"Yes," Eve adripped her hand tightly "I know you’re worried, Eve, but please don’t be Everything will be all right Trust in that This faine And ays come out on top"

Oh yes, Eve could well believe that Ruthless Cunning Donovan was definitely a oal Look at how easily he’d o back" She’d nearly said hoo back to Donovan’s and take so for the headache Will you call ahead for me, Sophie? I don’t want to interrupt Surely they’ve had enough ti well and that Ca back over"

"Perhaps it would be better if they stayed," Rachel murmured "We’ll look out for them, and you need the time to talk to Donovan so he can ease your fears"

Already shattered by what she’d discovered, it wasn’t hard for Eve’s iination to shift into overdrive Was it a setup? Were Donovan’s sisters-in-law in this with him? Did they plan to separate theet?