He was a steady, immovable thing in a life that had only ever known shifting ground. You are the most genuine person I have ever met, he would say, his hand warm against my cheek. I am never going to let you be alone again.

Chapter 5 — Hunger Disguised as Instinct

Hunger disguises itself as instinct so easily, when you have been starved of affection your whole life.

I believed him.

We married eighteen months later.

I signed the prenup he called “standard corporate red tape.” He stroked my hair and murmured that bringing in an outside lawyer would only cause friction with his family’s board. Don’t you trust me? he asked.