Lying alone in a new bed, in a new home, with one hand under his head, Billy was looking at the shadows on the ceiling and thinking. Sleeping was out of the question, even if he was tired as a mug. The events of that day were going back and forth in his mind, sucking all his energy.          The last few days had been too hectic and Billy hadn't really had time to let the reality sink in. He spent an absurd number of hours at the office, saving the company. In doing this, Billy had subconsciously made things hectic so he wouldn't have to dwell on it. But there was nothing more to add at this point: he was a married man.          In order to save the company, Billy went against his own principles. He accepted Stephanie’s proposal for so many reasons, but mainly to give himself a break and regroup. The money Stephanie ga

“You know that you’re still in time to put an end to all this? The bride has not yet arrived... Maybe she too is no longer sure of taking the crucial step...”“Shawn, you should stop... You know how women are. They need time to prepare themselves... Today is a special day for Stephanie, for everyone. She wanted to be perfect. As far as I'm concerned, I gave my word to Stephanie and I don't intend to back down.”           Billy pulled his hands from his pockets and put one on Shawn's shoulder to reassure him and, maybe to reassure himself also. “She’ll be on time, don’t worry!”“Hmm... Maybe she understood that you two are about to make a big mistake and he wanted to give you time to run away...” Shawn continued skeptical, smiling and pushing him affectionately.“You’re such a h

          The dinner went on in perfect silence. Stephanie wasn’t even looking at Billy, afraid that he might go and lock himself into his room again. Eating with him from the same plate was a very unusual thing, but Stephanie tried not to make too much of it. It was the first time they had dinner together and she liked it very much.          They continued to eat in silence, without looking at each other, without speaking about the ceremony, about the fact that they were already husband and wife. Stephanie finished before him, sipped some wine to work up the courage to start a conversation since the silence between them was getting heavy.“It was nice of Shawn to agree to be your best man,” she said softly putting the glass on the table. “From what I’ve seen, he wasn’t so glad about the idea of this marriage.”“What makes yo

          'You can hide in your little apartment, you can try to protect your perfect world, but I will still hit you… soon. Did you tell your hubby about these messages? Knowing you, I doubt it. I saw him the other day, so calm and happy. Perhaps, one of these days, I will let him know about our daily… dates. About the fact that his innocent little wife has a hundred thousand dollars put aside. You know, little Belle, you have what I want and I won’t stop until I’ll have it. This money is what your damned Daddy took from me!’          Isabelle looked at the message, the tenth in that week, and she couldn’t stop shaking. The person who sent her these threats seemed to know many things about her, things she hadn’t told Shawn yet. The e-mail was talking about the right sum of money, something only Lucy, the lawyer and her knew about.

          She opened her mouth to talk to him, but no words were coming out. Isabelle began to cry desperately and clung to him with all her might. Shawn hugged her tight and let her cry until there were no more tears left.          Finally, Shawn had the proof he was looking for. For days and days, Isabelle hadn’t quite been herself. She was distracted, moody, frustrated, depressed, always in her thoughts. In the beginning, Shawn thought it was all caused by her pregnancy.          Earlier in the evening, before making love, she was showing the same signs. So, for now, he’ll let her calm down a bit and then he will find out what is going on with her. Shawn embraced her even after she stopped crying, but Isabelle continued to tremble and sob. He dried her face and kept her tight.“Belle, all this is making me