Novels by James Wald

Maddison’s POV Those were the last words she spoke, cruel and vengeful screams plucked from her belly, directed at Tyler, at all of the months of believing, but now she lashed those words at the man who was before her.And they hit him hard.There was a minor change in Grant Harrison; nothing anyone but Maddison, whose entire universe now was packed into this hospital room, could feel it as deeply as one would feel an earthquake. The pale mask of being patient all of a sudden disappeared and he sat up straighter, shoulders squared, and the easy creases around his eyes hardened and became sharp. The air within the room became cold, charged with something stronger, and then Grant drew his hand back slowly, and put the business card on the nightstand next to her bed with a gentle click.His voice, when he did speak once more, had shed the original gentleness; it was even and firm. "You are upset because you are hurt, and I can understand that but you are letting one failure dictate the

Maddison's POV "There was an accident," Grant clarified, not looking away. "I was in the vicinity. I saw what had taken place and knew that it was you, so I brought you here."He had made it look so easy; A man sees a crash, he helps, but he was not just any man, he was a billionaire who had made her a job offer a some hours before she was hit. The chance was too big and too strange."Fuck," The voice came out sharper than she meant."Why would you do that?"A brief flash of shock passed across his face before it vanished. "You needed my help, Maddison. That's all.""Nothing is ever that simple," she snapped, the pain of Tyler's betrayal making her voice tart. Men don't act for simple reasons, there is always some strategy or ulterior motive, and she had just discovered that the hard way."What do you want from me?"He stayed quiet for a long time, watching her. She felt his eyes on her, studying and judging which made her skin itch. His calm felt worse than anger, It was the calm of

Maddison's POV Far away, in the quiet, leather-scented black car, Grant Harrison looked over the last business statistics on his tablet, and the statistics were good but his mind was elsewhere. They were back on a face from earlier that day, a flame-smart face of devotion, he had seen marvelous things in Maddison Carter, a hidden deep strength most people lacked. He had offered her an offer, and she turned it down, the reaction was dismal but not a defeat because Grant Harrison never conceded defeat."There is a crash ahead, sir. It seems like the traffic has come to a halt," declared his driver, Charles, speaking clear and composed.Grant looked away from his tablet, his eyes focusing on what was in front of him; strobes off of a police car who had pulled up just lit the wet road with moments of red and blue, then he noticed the crowd of people, the overturned bike, and something small and white on the ground.“Pull over, Charles," Grant spoke fast and firm. Something was wrong. He

Maddison's POVThe city air was wet and chilly, as if it was going to rain, the biting cold hurt on her hot flesh. It reeked of car exhausts and wet pavement. It was already very late in the evening and car horns were blaring, loud music sounded from the car driving by while the voices far away all blended together.She didn't have anywhere to go, no plan and just felt this overwhelming compulsion to run and get as far away as she could from Brooke’s shiny, proud smile so she just continued running in pain.Her stilettos, which she wore during her graduation, pounded the ground hard on the streets, and they seemed as if they would break with each step. Maddison’s graduation gown was supposed to be for walking gracefully across a stage, but now it was difficult to run and the hem of the gown caught at her ankles, tripping her up and making her stumble as she ran. Tears blurring her vision flowed from her eyes and made it difficult for her to see, and the familiar streets now became an

Maddison's POVThe door clicked shut. Outside in the deserted corridor, the sound was loud. So absolute, as if she were in prison, and for a very long time, Maddison was rooted to the spot. The soft yellow light above her seemed to get darker, then the walls felt like they were closing in on her and she couldn't breathe. The only thing she could hear was a deafening scream stuck in her head, the sight of Brooke smiling while kissing Tyler continually replaying in her mind, and it hurt to see.Then, a coldness swept over her, like she had been dipped into freezing water; it started in her stomach and then spread. It made her arms and legs heavy and weak, and her fingers, still tightly clenched around her diploma, numbed. She looked down at the rolled paper as though it were someone else's, and the red ribbon, which had felt like verification of achievement, just felt like blood on white paper now. Valedictorian; the word now a joke. She reasoned, 'What is the value of a perfect plan if

Maddison’s POVThat laughter was coming from inside Tyler's room and cut into Maddison's chest, her arm froze, with her fist still wrapped in the air just above the door, and she wondered if she had come to the wrong door. All of the witty things that she had practiced telling him just disappeared, and then she was left with a chill, hollow fear. Her posture was rigid in her graduation robe as the diploma she held in her hand, her prize for five years of hardwork, was now heavy, and at this moment the only thing rightly in existence for Maddison was that sound…that laughter. It was a sound of someone who was comfortable Tyler's apartment that didn't belong there, especially not on a day like this.Her mind spun with the other options. A sister, a cousin, or a friend's girlfriend waiting for him, but they didn't quite fit in her head, and that laugh sealed it. It sounded too comfortable in the room, like the person was supposed to be there.She had an awful urge to know, even as she wa