Olivia stayed seated on the edge of the bed. For a moment, it felt like the entire room was holding its breath along with Lana, waiting for an answer. But she simply couldn't speak. Her throat locked up. Her gaze, still red from crying, dropped to the floor.

How could she explain what had happened in that room just hours earlier? How could she say it wasn't a real marriage, that everything was nothing more than a contract, that she herself had provoked Liam, driven by feelings that might have