PART 1 — THE THIRTY-EIGHT-DOLLAR MOTEL

I gave up the comfortable life my wealthy parents had planned for me because I chose to marry the boy I had loved since high school.

I knew what I was leaving behind.

Luxury cars.

A sprawling home in Ridgefield.

Country clubs.

Vacations where I had never once seen my parents look at a price.

And the family trust my father had always told me would someday make sure I “never had to worry about money.”

I also knew what I was choosing.

Owen.

For seven years, he had been the only person in my life who treated me like Genevieve instead of William and Beatrice Carlisle’s daughter.

He never asked to spend weekends on my father’s yacht.

Never cared which families attended the Ridgefield Country Club.

Never hinted that my last name could help him.

He brought me crooked wildflowers he picked beside the road.

He remembered books I mentioned once.

He listened.

So when my parents gave me an ultimatum, I chose Owen.

They cut me off completely.