“Bella,” he said, and his voice carried to every corner of that silent room, because he wanted it to.

“There’s no point in pretending anymore.

Tracy and I are going to be together.

You couldn’t give me another child, and my mother deserves a proper grandson to carry the family name.

So be reasonable.

Sign the papers, pack your things, and don’t make a mess about the house or the company stock.” I felt a hundred pairs of eyes swing to me.

An aunt whispered, just loud enough, that a man like Joe needed an heir.