The Enchantment by Kristin Hannah Read Free Book Online Page B

his and looked at her. The expression in his dark eyes was infinitely sad and filled with regret. "We're not lovers, Em. We're business associates who occasionally sleep together. It's not enough for me, not for a lifetime. Marriage isn't a merger. It's something more. ... It's laughter, hope, joy— emotions IVe never known you to express. I'm sure you have them, don't get me wrong. But you're so ... so withdrawn and self-centered. I admire your mind immensely—you're a brilliant, visionary businesswoman. But . . ."He shrugged, apparently at a loss for words, then he said quietly, "You're just not the woman I'd choose to share my life and raise my children. I'm sorry. ..."
    Humiliation stung Emma's cheeks like a slap. She'd always known she wasn't very . . . lovable. But to hear it in such cold, impersonal words—and from one of the few people whose opinion she respected—made her feel worthless and barren. Empty. She shot to her feet and spun away from the pity in Eugene's eyes. "I understand," she said stiffly. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."
    "Emma, I—"
    Without waiting to hear what he had to say, she yanked up her skirts and strode briskly from the room. *
    * *
    THE ENCHANTMENT
    49
    Two weeks later, Emma knew she'd hit rock bottom. It was over.
    She rubbed her weary, overworked eyes, and sighed. Her head drooped forward, her elbows plopped onto the polished mahogany of her desk.
    She stared at the papers strewn in front of her. The white sheets blurred; numbers melted together in a black stream of dancing dots. She'd spent every waking hour of the last two days going through the figures and documents in her financial portfolio, studying every piece of paper in every drawer. Time and again she'd wanted to give up, but she'd forced herself to keep looking, keep hoping that somewhere she'd find an asset she'd overlooked. Anything that would give her the money to start over. Anything.
    At first she'd thought it would be easy, finding some scrap of redemption, but with each passing moment, each second, she'd believed in the possibility less and
    less.
    Now she had no hope left at all. There was nothing. No asset, no hidden cache of money, no secret stock. Nothing. She was broke. And there was no more time to look. No more time to hope.
    In less than ten minutes the movers Eugene had hired would arrive at her door. Everything of value would be carted off and sold to pay her staggering debts. The summer house had already been repossessed, and the small staff that had seen to her needs in both homes had been let go.

    She had ten minutes left. Ten minutes in which to perform the most difficult, most painful task of all: clean out her desk.
    She'd been putting off the task for weeks, but she couldn't put it off anymore. It was no longer her desk; 50
    Kristin Hannah
    it belonged to the bank now. They wanted it, and they wanted it empty.
    She grabbed the little brass handles on the top drawer, and gently eased it open. The first thing that caught her eye was the checkbook. She pulled it out and laid it on her desktop. Her fingers glided atop the high-grade, butter-soft leather almost reverently before she flipped it open.
    More numbers leapt out at her, taunting her with the memory of her excesses. This was the one document she hadn't allowed herself to study. There had been no point. The bank had seized all the cash in the account.
    She glanced down at the entries and felt the familiar tightness in her throat. Meissen vases, Sheffield silver, Aubusson rugs, Waterford goblets . . . She'd spent money like it was water.
    Today the well had run dry. She glanced down the line of numbers, and noticed something odd. There was an empty entry line. A frown pulled at her mouth. When had she ever failed to record a payment made?
    A knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts. She waited for one of her employees to open it, then remembered she had no employees. Heaving a sigh, she pushed tiredly to her feet and headed for the