The Cherished Wife

Henry was out of patience with Layla's drama. "Jordan, she's your wife now, which makes her part of the Langford family. You know what to do." He gave Jordan a look of regret.

If only Tania had chosen Jordan back then, he would have been a decent choice. Too bad he and Anna were not meant to be.

"Got it!" Jordan agreed. "I won't bother you anymore." He took Layla's hand firmly. "Come on, we're going home!"

"I won't go, Dad. Please listen to me. I've always been your daughter! You... Tania left us three years ago and never treated us like her real parents. She didn't even come home when her mom was dying..."

"Stop! Just stop. I'm done listening to you trash-talk Anna. I've done more than enough for you," Henry declared. Without his help back in the day, Layla would never have had a shot at marrying Jordan considering her background. Sure, the Langfords were not the top dogs in Brookville, but they were a respected literary family, and Jordan was a catch.

not ready to throw in the towel, even though Henry was

from Jordan's grip and shooting him a death glare. "You think you're so great? Why can't you put in a good

off, leaving Layla fuming and stamping her foot, muttering, "Tania? Yeah, right, like she's

you just

out of her skin at the voice that came from nowhere. She stumbled, caught herself against the wall, and turned to look at Sean with a look of sheer panic. "Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith..." Sean gave a sly grin, casually stroking his chin, looking as innocent as

"Sean Smith..."

against the wall, desperate to run though her feet would not budge. She swallowed hard, tears threatening to

chuckled, giving Layla an innocent look that did not quite reach his eyes. "Why so shocked? Did you just realize how good-looking I am? Can't contain

ago, she had watched in horror as a man trapped with her in a dark room met a grisly end at Sean's hand, with nothing