Fell For My Ex's Brother In Law

The day of my release has finally come, but it's not the reason I've been waiting for so long. Today is the day my boyfriend Charles will finally propose to me.My cellmate Trina hugged me tightly. "We don't want you to leave. If you go, who will help us with wounds and illnesses? That idiot who only engages in harassment but goes by the name of a doctor?"I don't want my release day to be so sad. I hugged Trina and said, "Cheer up. You know how long I've been counting down to today. Aren't you happy for me?"Before going to prison, I had a bright future as a surgeon, and Charles was a rising star in politics. We were a perfect match.When a political opponent planted drugs in his home, I stepped forward to take full responsibility for it. Even though I lost my medical license, I ensured my loved one's future. He promised me that the day I got out of prison would be the day he proposed to me.Trina shakes back her long braids. "I said, do you really think this Charles dude is going to

"We don't hire people with a criminal record, miss," the manager of Graham's Grocery says coldly, shoving my resume back across his desk as if it's contaminated. "This is a family business. We hold our employees to a certain standard."I gather my resume, trying not to cry, but tears overspill and trickle down my cheeks, anyway. The manager looks embarrassed, annoyed at my emotion. He turns his face away and ignores me as I stumble from his office.A nearby security guard clocks my tears as well, and is equally unfeeling about it. He gestures to the fire exit nearby. "This way, please, miss." I slip out into the alleyway and straight into an ankle-deep puddle, the heavy door slamming behind me with an air of finality.Still no news about or from Charles. No one will tell me anything, and I don't understand why. What does my family have to gain from lying like this? If they're so worried about humiliation, why don't they stand up for me?What are they getting out of still protecting th

The ambulance arrives quickly, probably thanks to the fact that it's the Alpha's son who calls for one. Elena, the little girl, is carefully lifted onto a stretcher. Her mom flutters anxiously beside her, and they're both gently led to the waiting ambulance.Marcus catches sight of Martin, his photographer, hovering over his shoulder with the film running."That's enough footage," he says. "We don't want to overdo it, Marty. We need to strike a good balance between 'heroic Alpha's son assists glamorous doctor during medical emergency' and 'exploiting an impoverished kid and invading her privacy for political clout.'"Martin nods. "I'll try to minimize how much of her face gets shown, too," he says. "You're right – this is a great opportunity to show people how involved you are in your community, but we don't want to overdo it and piss people off. We can settle it in tomorrow's meeting."Marcus agrees. "Take off for the rest of the afternoon, put something together for me to review, an

Becki is stunned. Nicole – Marcus's date? The universe has to be playing some kind of sick joke on her. She stands staring at Marcus, open mouthed with disbelief.Lucky for the family, Darlene is a bit quicker on the uptake. She grabs Becki's arm and steers her a few steps away while Paul, who had arrived behind them all unnoticed, smoothly beelined up to Marcus and started making apologies."It's my daughter, she's been under a lot of stress recently, clearly made a mistake, bit on edge, you know how these young girls are…" Becki can hear Paul soothing and chuckling.Boy, does that piss her off. She breaks free of Darlene's grip and shoulders her way back over to the little trio, glaring at Nicole's serene, glowing face as she glanced up at Marcus, still tucked protectively into his side."What is going on here?" Becki shouts, louder than she'd intended to. "Why is this – this tramp here as Marcus's date? Charles promised me that he'd introduce me to the Alpha's son. This is so unfai

My eyes flicker evasively; I can't help it. What am I supposed to say to that? Although I decided not to use Marcus to get revenge on Charles, I still have no intentions of falling in love with him. I can't afford that kind of entanglement.For one thing, there are dozens of very rich, very pretty young women here who are currently staring at me with daggers in their eyes as I dance with Marcus. They're all from other prominent werewolf families, politician families, business families – you get the idea.Their families have money. They were raised to live in this kind of world, the world of Plaza weddings and real crystal chandeliers and sleekly expensive car collections in the second garage.The world of dinner menus with no prices listed, where the food was made according to the chef's discretion and the wine only comes by the bottle.The world of yachts and jets, second and third vacation homes. The world of Swiss bank accounts and handbag collections designed by people whose names