CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR – THE VOW

Despite the oppressive summer heat blanketing the city, Charlotte felt an icy chill raise gooseflesh along her arms as she and Julian descended from their town car. Reaching up to adjust the diamond choker at her throat - an ostentatious piece she'd once adored, now a hollow reminder of old frivolities - she stole a sidelong glance at her husband. His expression was as inscrutable as it had been for weeks now, a mask of implacable stoicism concealing whatever storms still raged beneath. The thought caused a pang of sorrow and guilt to reverberate through Charlotte's core. Here was the man who had laid the world at her feet without a second thought, whose love for her was as boundless as the cosmos itself...and she had reKd him to this - a mere shell of his former vibrancy, haunted and hunted at every turn. As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Julian turned and offered her a reassuring smile that did little to warm the chill settling over her heart. Taking her hand, he gav