I shake my head, so ashamed, but I still add, "I don't feel the same way anymore. I haven't since before I married her. Yes, those were my intentions, but they aren't anymore, I promise you. When I talked to Huck the other day, he didn't know how I feel."

She snarls, "God, Sebastian, you make me sick."

"I'm telling the truth," I claim.

Melanie's brown eyes turn wilder. "Do you ever listen to yourself? You just admitted that you had a woman sign a contract to marry you and go into a fake marriage. She was supposed to spend a month with you, with your family, and get to know everybody. And everything she did, she did for you. She negotiated a fair and square settlement amount. And then you, from day one, were trying to screw her out of it. All the while claiming to have feelings for her. Do you see how sick that is?"

"I'm a horrible person. I know it was wrong, but it doesn't change the facts. I don't just have feelings for Georgia. I love Georgia," I declare.

"Rot in hell, Sebastian. And whatever you do, you stay away from her, or you're going to have me to deal with," she threatens.

"She's my wife. You can't keep her from me," I claim.

Melanie's face turns almost purple. She lowers her voice and steps forward. "She may be your wife, but in a few weeks, she won't be. Don't make me tell you again, Sebastian." Melanie spins and goes inside, slamming the door.

I want to crawl into a hole and never come out. My entire life is in a collapsing brick building. There are only a few floors between us, yet I've never been farther from getting what I want.

For the first time in my life, I don't care about my career, or success, or anything else. All I want is my wife back.

And I'm Sebastian Cartwright, a man who always gets what he wants. But I don't know how to fix this or save the one thing that makes me happy. And that's my marriage.

Georgia's the only person who never wanted anything from me. All she asked for was there to be no lies between us and for me to be honest about how I felt about her. Now, she thinks my feelings were false. She believes our marriage was fake.

Nothing is less true. Not a moment since marrying her did I feel like anything between us was a sham. There wasn't a second where I wanted January 2nd to come so I could alleviate her of her duties.

I'll do anything to fix this misunderstanding between us. Yet I've never been so unsure about how to make something happen.

I stare at the building for a long time, willing her to come to the window. She never does. And the more time that passes, the deeper the truth sinks in.

I've lost her forever.

Twenty-Seven

GEORGIA