Anger was evident in the slight pout of Eveline’s lower lip as she sat straight backed in the cushy leather chair at the head of the table in the largest conference room she had ever seen.  This was an interview, no doubt, and her seat at the head of the table placed her in that awkward spot where everyone in the room could easily stare right at her.  And normally, Eveline would have basked in delight at the notion of capturing the eyes of some of the most powerful people in the world.<br/><br/>Colin MacGregor was the man in Lerinae, the largest city in the new commonwealth that had arisen from the ashes of the Great War nearly 200 years ago.   Any women chosen to be his wife would be honored at being wed to the very man who controlled the entire foundation of their society.  But Eveline wanted the honor of being the<em>first</em>wife of a powerful man, not the second.  Her father, Howard Violette was Minister of finance for the Commonwealth and controlled the flow of money up and down the string of cities that formed their nation.  With the exception of MacGregor, her father might easily claim to be the most powerful man in the nation.  And as his second daughter, Eveline had expected to be bound to a prominent man of power as well.  Colin certainly fit that profile…. but he already had his first wife and child.  She would always be second.  Always be in the shadow, a life suitable for many women but not for her.<br/><br/>She glanced out the window and sighed.  The view of Lerinae was spectacular from this height, the sun glinting off the skyscrapers that had arisen in the newly founded city over the years, humanity’s way of reestablishing their place in the world they had once nearly destroyed.  The residences of the upper class, their places of work and leisure, parks and schools all formed the inner part of the deluxe city.  Beyond the wall, the lower castes lived and worked, with large check gates for those lower castes entering the inner city to work, jobs that the upper class bestowed on those of mixed genetics.  The servants that worked in her household were allowed to live with them, raising both her family’s status as well as those of their lower caste servants.   In this new world, genetics determined castes.  Genetics meant everything.  For a lower caste, the opportunity to enhance the genetics of their children by staying in the upper class world was a benefit most appreciated.<br/><br/>Eveline’s genetics were nearly perfect, one of the reasons she had been selected as a candidate for Colin Macgregor.  But the snub of being a ‘breeder wife’ for the rest of her life was not worth his hand in marriage.  Not to her.  Not when she’d had aspirations of dominating her household, controlling her future, producing the son who would take over whatever company or business her husband ran.  Now that would never happen.  Now she would just have children for Macgregor to increase his status, his genetic pool, his world.  Now she would just be some other woman’s servant.<br/><br/>She had to fail this interview.<br/><br/>She turned as her father and mother entered the room.  Howard and Margerette together were a commanding presence, a powerful aura that could make heads turn and room silent.  As their second daughter, Eveline had inherited their grace, their beauty, their intelligence and their poise.  She was all that they would have wanted in a daughter, even more so in her opinion than her elder sister Amanda.  Yet, Amanda had been wed to the son of Ronald Jones, who controlled the energy sector of their nation.  Not just wed, but wed as the first wife, as the woman of position and power.  Jealousy stabbed at Eveline’s chest and she pushed back the bile in her throat.  Life was unfair.  That should have been her.<br/><br/>“I hope you’re ready, Eveline,” Howard spoke as he took a seat down the table, his wife settling next to him. “You can imagine how important this is to me and your mother.  When we received word Colin was interested in you… well this cements the connections our family has been working-”<br/><br/>“Father, spare me,” Eveline replied, her eyes shifting back to the window. “You have as much power as he does.  You don’t need this connection.  You want it, because you want the name for your grandchildren.  I’m the second wife.” She practically hissed, obvious distaste laced in her words.<br/><br/>“Young Lady, I did not raise you to speak to your betters that way,” her mother slapped, the woman’s tongue harder than any hand to the face could be.  Eveline cringed but kept her mouth shut.  Her parents would make her pay if she failed this interview….<br/><br/>And the consequences could be far worse than second wife.