When We Were Us (Sly Fox #3)

Prologue

I never imagined I would come to despise my husband, but here I was, filled with loathing. Just the sight of Oliver Fox made me feel physically ill. I needed him to answer for his secrets, but he lay there in his hospital bed, the machines around him beeping monotonously, marking time with his unresponsive vitals.

Sometimes, as I sat beside him, I felt an almost irresistible urge to pull the plug on his ventilator. The doctors insisted he would eventually wake, but as the days blurred into weeks, I found myself caring less and less if he ever did. My only anchor was the plan I had meticulously crafted: divorce him and take over his business.

After that horrific night on Fox Island, I returned with a fierce determination to claim the helm of Fox Asset Corporation. At twenty-four, I became one of the youngest CEOs in corporate America, thanks to the power of attorney Oliver had granted me. I held the world in my hands, but it felt more like a weight than a gift. Over the past two months, my bitterness and anger had only grown. My employees hated me, and I didn’t care.

I yearned for the days before everything fell apart—before Oliver was injured, before I discovered the folder of handwritten notes, before I learned about the double life he had concealed from me. And before I bore the physical and emotional scars his deceit had inflicted. I buried those scars deep, keeping them hidden from my family and friends. They had no idea of the truth.

The only person who knew was Ty Barnes. Ty had been my rock, my confidant, as I nursed my wounds. We had grown closer, his presence a balm to my battered soul. At the rate we were going, it seemed inevitable that he would get his wish and have me in his bed. I knew it was wrong to think that way—I was still a married woman—but the thought of it soothed some of the sting from Oliver’s betrayal.