Ivy couldn’t believe what she’d done.
She couldn’t believe that she was staring
into the cool, calculating eyes of the powerful CEO, the man who’d taken her
virginity, who was now her husband—and openly challenging him.
Cullen seemed as though he was trying to
gather his thoughts, perhaps gauging just how serious Ivy was.
She crossed her arms and calmly met his
gaze, trying not to give anything away. The truth was, Ivy was furious. Finding out that Cullen had been married previously without ever having
shared that information with her…
Realizing that he’d had another
engagement, another pre-nup or post-nup or whatever they wanted to call
it—was humiliating.
“I don’t think we need to go into all the
details right now,” Cullen told her cautiously.
“Now is exactly when we need to go into
all of the details,” Ivy retorted. She turned to Larry the lawyer, who was anxiously stroking his wispy
goatee as he sat a few feet away with the contracts in front of him. “I really think we need privacy to have
this discussion,” she told Larry.
“If I may be so bold—“ Larry began.
“You may not,” she cut him off. “Just go. I need to speak with my…” she almost
said ‘husband’ but couldn’t bring herself to speak the word. “I need to speak with Cullen, just the
two of us.”
Larry sighed and looked at Cullen, who
gave a tired shrug in response. “Go
on,” Cullen said. “Wait in the
hotel restaurant, have a coffee or something.”
The bespectacled lawyer got to his feet,
gathering the contracts and stuffing them quickly back into his valise, while
Cullen watched him, shaking his head.
After the little man had gone, Ivy turned
to Cullen. “Don’t give him a hard
time for blowing your secret,” she said. “If he hadn’t blurted out that you’d had a contract like this in the
past, I’d still be in the dark. And
that would be wrong.”
Cullen ran a hand through his thick, dark
hair. “I can see that you’re
upset.”
“About my current husband having been
previously married? Just a tad,”
she replied sarcastically.
“I wasn’t married,” Cullen said.
Ivy blinked. “I don’t understand. You weren’t married?”
He shook his head. “We were going to be married, and we had
a pre-nup drawn up, but it never got signed. We never had a chance.”
Ivy frowned. Some of her anger was dissipating as she
realized that perhaps she’d overreacted. “Who was she?”
Cullen went to the room service tray and
poured himself another cup of coffee. “Her name was Jillian Andrews.” He lifted the cup, but didn’t drink from it. “And she was my patient.”
Ivy stared at him. “The patient who died?”
He nodded. His eyes were strained and she could see
that this topic was immensely painful.
For a moment, she felt a surge of
jealousy so powerful that it almost doubled her over. Cullen Sharpe was still in love with
this woman, this dead woman. Her
memory haunted him.
Cullen finally sipped from the cup and
then slowly wiped his thumb across his lower lip. “I performed a surgery on Jillian to
remove a tumor in her brain,” he said, looking away from Ivy and out the window
now. “That was how we initially
met. It was a fairly routine
surgery. I was able to remove the
entire tumor, and the prognosis was very good for her recovery.”
“I thought you said she died during
surgery.”
“The first one was a success.” His blue eyes were as cold and withdrawn
as perhaps she’d ever seen.
Ivy sat down in a nearby chair. She felt clammy and slightly ill. “When did you begin seeing each other?”
“It happened as I continued to follow her
progress post-surgery. She became
my submissive.” Cullen was still
looking out the window, and so he didn’t see Ivy’s pained expression as he told
her this ‘minor’ detail.
Ivy felt her stomach tightening
She couldn’t believe that she was staring
into the cool, calculating eyes of the powerful CEO, the man who’d taken her
virginity, who was now her husband—and openly challenging him.
Cullen seemed as though he was trying to
gather his thoughts, perhaps gauging just how serious Ivy was.
She crossed her arms and calmly met his
gaze, trying not to give anything away. The truth was, Ivy was furious. Finding out that Cullen had been married previously without ever having
shared that information with her…
Realizing that he’d had another
engagement, another pre-nup or post-nup or whatever they wanted to call
it—was humiliating.
“I don’t think we need to go into all the
details right now,” Cullen told her cautiously.
“Now is exactly when we need to go into
all of the details,” Ivy retorted. She turned to Larry the lawyer, who was anxiously stroking his wispy
goatee as he sat a few feet away with the contracts in front of him. “I really think we need privacy to have
this discussion,” she told Larry.
“If I may be so bold—“ Larry began.
“You may not,” she cut him off. “Just go. I need to speak with my…” she almost
said ‘husband’ but couldn’t bring herself to speak the word. “I need to speak with Cullen, just the
two of us.”
Larry sighed and looked at Cullen, who
gave a tired shrug in response. “Go
on,” Cullen said. “Wait in the
hotel restaurant, have a coffee or something.”
The bespectacled lawyer got to his feet,
gathering the contracts and stuffing them quickly back into his valise, while
Cullen watched him, shaking his head.
After the little man had gone, Ivy turned
to Cullen. “Don’t give him a hard
time for blowing your secret,” she said. “If he hadn’t blurted out that you’d had a contract like this in the
past, I’d still be in the dark. And
that would be wrong.”
Cullen ran a hand through his thick, dark
hair. “I can see that you’re
upset.”
“About my current husband having been
previously married? Just a tad,”
she replied sarcastically.
“I wasn’t married,” Cullen said.
Ivy blinked. “I don’t understand. You weren’t married?”
He shook his head. “We were going to be married, and we had
a pre-nup drawn up, but it never got signed. We never had a chance.”
Ivy frowned. Some of her anger was dissipating as she
realized that perhaps she’d overreacted. “Who was she?”
Cullen went to the room service tray and
poured himself another cup of coffee. “Her name was Jillian Andrews.” He lifted the cup, but didn’t drink from it. “And she was my patient.”
Ivy stared at him. “The patient who died?”
He nodded. His eyes were strained and she could see
that this topic was immensely painful.
For a moment, she felt a surge of
jealousy so powerful that it almost doubled her over. Cullen Sharpe was still in love with
this woman, this dead woman. Her
memory haunted him.
Cullen finally sipped from the cup and
then slowly wiped his thumb across his lower lip. “I performed a surgery on Jillian to
remove a tumor in her brain,” he said, looking away from Ivy and out the window
now. “That was how we initially
met. It was a fairly routine
surgery. I was able to remove the
entire tumor, and the prognosis was very good for her recovery.”
“I thought you said she died during
surgery.”
“The first one was a success.” His blue eyes were as cold and withdrawn
as perhaps she’d ever seen.
Ivy sat down in a nearby chair. She felt clammy and slightly ill. “When did you begin seeing each other?”
“It happened as I continued to follow her
progress post-surgery. She became
my submissive.” Cullen was still
looking out the window, and so he didn’t see Ivy’s pained expression as he told
her this ‘minor’ detail.
Ivy felt her stomach tightening
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