Chapter 4

The evening after my near-death experience at the dinner party, I sat alone in my dressing room, the door locked behind me. My throat still burned from the allergic reaction, a constant reminder of how easily Marcus had risked my life for Sarah's fleeting satisfaction.

With trembling ha

Chapter 5

I stood before my laptop, fingers hovering over the keyboard as the glow of the screen illuminated my face in the darkness of our home office. It was 3 AM—the only time I could be certain that Marcus was deeply asleep, drugged by the expensive scotch he'd consumed before bed. My heart ha

Chapter 6

I stood in the dimly lit bedroom, watching Marcus's chest rise and fall in the peaceful rhythm of sleep. How strange that he could rest so easily while my world was crumbling around me. The moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting silver shadows across his face – a face I had onc