The Torn Husband (The Groveling Husbands #5)

Prologue

Rain

The courtroom air feels tight.

I stare down at my wedding gown. My knuckles turn white as I grip the lace, trying to block out the future flashing before my eyes. I see a quiet, cold house. I see dinners eaten in silence.

"Do you, Rain Hamilton, take..."

The judge’s voice fades into a dull buzz. I look up at the man standing beside me. He is not looking at me. His body is turned away, his shoulders tense.

He looks back toward the gallery.

I follow his gaze. A woman stands near the exit. Mascara runs down her cheeks. He stares at her with raw longing.

I feel a chill. In their story, I am the intruder. I am the villain who tore them apart.

I pull my eyes away, staring straight ahead at the bench.

Beside me, his posture softens just a fraction. It is not hatred that makes him stiff. He does not hate me. He just hates this room. He hates the forced vows of a wedding he never chose.

My mind drifts back to the night before. His words echo clearly in the quiet of my memory.

"We will have a family," he had said, his voice flat, mapping out our future like a blueprint. "I will be a husband to you. I will be a father to our children. But do not expect anything beyond that, Rain."

A cold deal.

He stands next to me now, ready to fulfill the terms of the contract. We will share a house. We will share a bed. We will have children. But his heart stays outside this marriage.

I swallow the lump in my throat and look at the gold band waiting on the velvet cushion.

I am the contract wife he never wanted.