No Longer Theirs: The One They Can't Replace
Ginger Sue
On the day Winter Everhart suffers a miscarriage, her husband, Joshua Stroud, and their son, Terence, are out with his beloved Jessica Lynch. They watch the very performance Winter has always loved.
"You're just so unreasonable. What's the point of all this?"
"Dad, can you get me a new mom? She's so annoying!"
On Winter's birthday, she returns from the hospital only to find Joshua celebrating Jessica's instead.
Even Terence, the child she nearly gave her life to bring into the world, pledges to protect the woman who has stolen everything from her.
Tears glisten in Winter's eyes as she smiles. Then, with quiet resolve, she walks away from the cage of a marriage that has bound her for five years.
Joshua and Terence believe she won't survive without the Stroud family. What they don't expect is that she rises so high that they can no longer reach her.
"Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud's car design is now number one nationwide—Stroud Group has been completely outshone!"
"Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud has just won the World Championship in Artificial Intelligence Design!"
"Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud has been invited by a foreign president to attend a state banquet!"
Regret tears Joshua apart. Dragging Terence with him, he kneels before Winter and pleads, "Honey, please give me another chance! If being your servant is what it takes, I'll do it!"
But just beyond the door, a strikingly handsome man kneels on one knee, a leather collar fastened around his neck. Twining a diamond leash around Winter's palm, he vows with his gaze burning with feverish devotion, "My master, from this moment on, I bow to no one but you. Please, take me in."